Pep Guardiola has already told Mikel Arteta how Luis Enrique plans to defeat Arsenal. The Gunners will host Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final.
The French giants stormed past Manchester City at the start of the year, winning 4-2 in the penultimate clash of the ‘league phase’. Jack Grealish fired Guardiola’s side ahead shortly after half-time before Erling Haaland doubled the lead.
City surrendered their two-goal advantage at the Etihad Stadium, with Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola pulling PSG level a few moments later. João Neves found the Parisians’ third of the tie before Gonçalo Ramos put the fourth and final nail in the coffin.
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Speaking to reporters after the game, Guardiola was asked if he was angry with his team’s performance. As quoted by the club website, he said: “No. They were better. The players suffer, and they were better.”
The City manager then explained, in detail, how Enrique dismantled his side. Guardiola said: “They had better intensity to win duels. We found our moment to score two goals and go 0-2.
“When they have the ball, they drop us, but when we have the ball, we create problems for them. At 0-2 and 1-2, we could not play. To defend, you have to have the ball. They were better.
“They had an extra man in the middle with a false nine, and that’s why it was difficult. They were better, and we have to accept it. They were better, and we have to accept it.”
Guardiola added: “They had one more player there in the middle, and always we expect with the build-up to have possession, but they were more aggressive in the pressing.
“We could not make the process that we should. The connection with Bernardo [Silva] and [Maeto] Kova was not possible or was not good.
“After, we could not make the process and in terms of transitions, we could not cope with them. They are faster. We have to defend with the ball and it’s impossible to defend if you don’t play.”
Speaking to reporters on Monday ahead of the heavyweight bout, Arteta insisted that Arsenal must be brave against PSG. The Gunners manager said: “You’ve seen it first hand the way we approach the game against Real Madrid.
“The way we approach the game when we played [PSG] before, the way we approach every week. That’s not going to change, that’s who we are, it’s our biggest strength. The good thing as well about us is that we are able to adapt to very different contexts, and we have shown that again this season.
“Because sometimes you don’t want to, but the teams are able to take you to a different game, and feeling comfortable playing that game, and overcoming that game with yourself in a position that you play more of the game that you want, is a big strength.
“I think this season again we have demonstrated that we have the capacity to do that…”
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