Ake (centre) scored for Manchester City.
In the early morning of the 28th, Manchester City beat Arsenal 1-0 and continued to move forward in the FA Cup.
Guardiola expressed joy after the cup to be able to beat the league leader's momentum in the cup, and for Arsenal, although Arteta described the result as "disappointed", discerning people can see a large-scale rotation of gunners and think more about the league championship.
In the coming months, Arsenal and Manchester City will really fight with bayonets.
Trossard (right) started his debut for Arsenal.
6 consecutive kills against the Gunners in all competitions
In this game, Manchester City's squad did not have major adjustments, goalkeeper Ortega is a new face, and Ake is back in the starting line-up.
Arsenal changed as many as six players, with Trossard starting for the first time, Turner, Tomiyasu Kenyang, Holding, Tierney and Fabio Vieira coming on, and Odegaard, Martinelli, Saliba, Zinchenko and goalkeeper Ramsdale taking turns.
But even so, Arsenal have shown their ability to play at the moment.
Throughout the first half, Arsenal had 42% possession, shooting 4-5 on goal and 2-1 on target, using high pressing and targeting key players, Arsenal made Mahrez and Grealish turn around very hard, and Haaland, who had repeatedly retreated, was also mediocre.
Manchester City legend Nikki Weaver, who commented on the BBC at half-time, said: "Arteta should have been the more satisfied side in the first half, and they easily killed all of City's attacks in the midfield. ”
After the game, Guardiola also admitted that he did not anticipate Arteta's formation, "I didn't expect the opponent to adopt the tactic of staring people, which made it difficult for us to play our own rhythm. ”
Grealish assists Ake's goal.
After the change, Guardiola replaced Walker, Alvarez and B seats, and the scene changed - in the 64th minute, Alvarez hit the post from distance, Grealish attracted two defenders in the box and completed an inverted triangle pass, and Ake hit the far corner to complete the only goal of the game.
"It's not a Premier League game [although] but we're happy." Pep Guardiola has reason to be happy as he has already beaten two strong rivals Chelsea and Arsenal in the FA Cup and continues to keep the possibility of winning the tournament.
In addition, this match was the 18th victory over Arsenal in charge of his managerial career, which became his most won opponent.
Since Arteta took over Arsenal, Pep Guardiola has faced Arsenal a total of seven times, 6-1, with the last defeat dating back to the FA Cup semi-finals in the 2019-2020 season, and since then he has completed a six-game winning streak against the Gunners in all competitions.
Arteta inspired the Arsenal squad on the sidelines.
Arsenal concentrate on league rivalry
However, Guardiola also mentioned that this is an unusual Arsenal team.
"It's a completely different day for them, Arteta rarely rotates in the Premier League, players like Odegaard, Zinchenko have a big impact and Martinelli is an incredible weapon. Our next showdown will be completely different and the pressure will be even greater. ”
Guardiola remained sober enough - this time, Zinchenko and Martinelli came off the bench in the 66th minute, Odegaard came on in the 74th minute, and Guardiola bluntly said that the 10 minutes after the goal were City's toughest moment in the second half, and Arsenal's main players quickly put Manchester City under pressure in a short period of time, only to regain their rhythm and hold on to the victory as the game came to an end.
In a way, City seem to want to win the FA Cup more than Arsenal – they have more bench depth to handle multi-fronts, and Pep Guardiola is reluctant to rule out the FA Cup winner early.
Manchester City players greeted old teammate Zinchenko.
On the other hand, this is the first time the two sides have met this season, and Arsenal, who are in excellent form in the league, have shown amazing ability to steal points, and Guardiola is looking to beat Arsenal's momentum in a head-to-head match, add confidence to his players, and test Arsenal's qualities.
After all, there will be two matchups between the two sides in the remaining fixtures of the league, and the outcome of these two matchups will likely determine the Premier League champions this season.
At present, Manchester City has one more game ahead of Arsenal, trailing by five points, and the most direct plan is to knock Arsenal head-on.
Arteta (left) and Pep Guardiola shake hands before the match.
The master-apprentice fighting method has just begun
Now it seems that Guardiola is undoubtedly happy with the result, but whether he can kill two birds with one stone has to be questioned.
Arteta made it clear after the game that his side could have fought for more, "The result was disappointing, the details make the difference, but we showed a lot of positives. Manchester City are a very difficult team to beat but I would say that we don't lose to them on the pitch. ”
It sounds like a defeat has not hurt Arteta's confidence, but has emboldened them to continue wrestling with Manchester City.
The fact is that since a semi-main Arsenal can go 55 with Manchester City and lose just one goal, Mikel Arteta's side will be even more terrifying than they are at the moment when they decide to go all the way.
Everyone knows what Arsenal's goals and spirits are this season, and there is no doubt about the importance of the FA Cup and the league.
After the game, Arteta was visibly unconvinced.
Arsenal last won the Premier League in 2003-2004, and Arteta won't be too distracted by an FA Cup he won two years ago, but will focus as much energy as possible on the most important front of the league.
It's clear that Pep Guardiola and Arteta's fighting style will be the biggest highlight for the rest of the season – for Arteta, Guardiola is a former mentor and he is ready to challenge authority.
In an interview before the game, Arteta specifically mentioned his relationship with Pep Guardiola: "He's been inspiring me since I was 18 years old, I like the way Pep Guardiola plays, the way he delivers information and understands the game, but I've never tried to simply copy and paste. ”
'Coaching a team like Arsenal should be done in a more respectful way, rather than copying other people's work.'
The fighting technique of the master and apprentice duo will continue.