Mikel Arteta dismissed talk of his team supposedly indulging in the ‘dark arts’ at Manchester City on Sunday and said Arsenal’s injury list ahead of tomorrow night’s clash with Bolton will reflect the fact his players were genuinely injured.
The Gunners’ tactics at the Etihad at the weekend have come under heavy scrutiny as they attempted to hold on to a 2-1 lead with 10 men for the entire second half following the dismissal of Leandro Trossard.
Arteta set up with a 5-4-0 formation that looked like it had achieved its objective with a superb rearguard display only for John Stones to pop up with an equaliser eight minutes into stoppage time.
Arsenal were accused of time wasting as they tried to see the game out with several men going down with various injuries, including Riccardo Calafiori, David Raya, Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Martinelli.
Without naming names, Arteta said he would be short of several players for tomorrow’s EFL Cup third-round clash with the League One side at the Emirates.
He said: “I always prefer the facts than words or supposing things. Let’s see who’s available tomorrow and then we can talk about dark arts, or these things.
“Unfortunately, there will be a few players not available. Tomorrow you will find out.”
Calafiori from all angles 🎯 pic.twitter.com/EdOrfCed2t
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 23, 2024
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Arteta hails ‘superb’ Arsenal
It has been a difficult run of fixtures for Arsenal with three away games – at North London rivals Tottenham, Atalanta in the Champions League and City – over the past week.
A win at Spurs and two draws is a decent return, and Arteta was pleased with his side’s resilience.
He added: “The team has a desire to compete in any context to win and to adapt. Different competitions and different ways of playing – it is superb.
“Happy? No. Because we wanted to win the three games, but I understand how tough that context is and how difficult it is.
“The things we have to deal with and our own issues with the amount of players we have out. It is a significant improvement and we have to be happy with that.”
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City was a normal game – Arteta
Sunday’s game was a draining encounter but Arteta says they are refreshed and ready to go again.
“Yes, fully recovered. I take it like a normal game – it was an emotional game, but they all are,” he said.
“I am looking forward to Wednesday. We have already moved on and are ready to battle again.”
Arteta was likely to rotate his squad against Bolton irrespective of any injuries sustained at the weekend and it could mean a first start for Raheem Sterling following his deadline day move from Chelsea.
“He [Sterling] has had a few minutes already. He played in a few games and Wednesday he has another opportunity,” said the Spaniard.
“He is hungry to have more minutes and to impact the team in the way he can.”
