Mikel Arteta bristles at reminder of Arsenal DNA claim amid "dark arts" row

Mikel Arteta said he was very proud of his "superb" players for learning from past mistakes - even if he was not pleased when reminded of past comments made about need to be more savvy

Mikel Arteta is proud that Arsenal have learnt from their mistakes - even though there was a familiar sting in the tale.

The Gunners boss said he “would be very thick” if his team had buckled with a man less against Manchester City because they had been in the same situation twice before and were overwhelmed.

In August 2021 Granit Xhaka was sent off late in the first half and City coasted to a 5-0 win. Then, in January 2022, Gabriel was dismissed for a second yellow before Rodri scored a 90th-minute winner.

So when John Stones delivered a 98th-minute sucker punch that reduced three points to one at the weekend, Arteta instead declared himself “extremely proud” with his team’s “superb” performance after Leandro Trossard was given his marching orders.

“We’ve learnt from the past,” he insisted yesterday. “Unfortunately we’ve been in the same situation a few times. We’d better learn. If not I would be thick, very thick.”

He described having his entire team sitting back in the second half as “a necessity” – and remains annoyed that the post-match focus has been devoted to supposed gamesmanship rather than the tactical nuances.

And the Basque notably bristled when reminded of a comment he made last February that being street wise was not part of Arsenal ’s DNA.

After being knocked out of the Champions League by a Porto side well-versed in winding up opponents, Declan Rice said the Gunners lacked “savviness.”

Arteta then claimed that he was teaching his stars how to be more clever through showing them video clips and even pinching them.

But when it was suggested that his squad may have since graduated from the school of dark arts with first class honours, Arteta shot back that his comments then and the context of Sunday are “different things.”

Either way no one can dispute that Arsenal have undergone a mentality shift that has put talk of a soft centre to one side. And Arteta did admit that learning to enjoy the fight is something he has taught the players.

“It is not something that we notice, it is something that we had to instil in them,” he said. “Because you cannot play without that level of concentration, focus and discipline for that long, thrown into that context, if you don’t love it.

“Somehow you have to love it. If not, you start to miss bits and spaces and the passes start to break and you get punished.”

Perhaps Arsenal’s greatest strength is now their adaptability. One weekend they are producing thrilling attacking football, the next they are frustrating an opponent to great effect.

Arteta says “what won’t change is my will and how I want to play.” But he also knows that to succeed, his team must be able to mix it up.

“We want to spend more time [attacking] but sometimes the opponent forces you to [sit back] and sometimes you force yourself to do that,” he added.

“If you’re there, you better be as good as you are when you are higher up the pitch. If not, you become very vulnerable. I don’t want a team that is vulnerable.”

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