Fabrizio Romano has responded to the 0-0 draw between Manchester City and Arsenal by praising the Gunners’ defence as they ground out an important point at the Etihad Stadium.
It’s not often we see Arsenal being happy to sit back and defend, but they executed their game plan well in this difficult fixture, preventing Man City from creating a lot of clear-cut chances.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Romano praised the solid Arsenal defence, singling out William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes for praise, whilst also praising Josko Gvardiol for the way he came in and shone for City in a difficult game.
Gvardiol hasn’t always been an automatic starter since moving to City last summer, and fans could be forgiven for feeling a bit anxious about the young Croatian filling in for the injured John Stones, but he did his job well.
There’s been a bit of criticism for Arsenal on social media, but Romano certainly isn’t having any of it as he praised their defence and provided us with some thoughts on the state of the Premier League title race.
Fabrizio Romano on City-Arsenal and the state of the title race
“It wasn’t a classic between Manchester City and Arsenal yesterday, but still an intriguing tactical contest, and I felt Arsenal defensively are amazing. It was a fantastic performance by William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, with Arsenal limiting City’s chances throughout the game,” Romano said.
“Obviously for now it looks like a good result for Liverpool, who beat Brighton earlier in the day, but I also don’t think it’s over for City yet as we know they never give up, and they showed that when they came from five points behind to overtake Arsenal in the title race last season.
“As well as Saliba and Gabriel, I was also impressed by Josko Gvardiol, who came in and did an excellent job in a difficult and tense game. There were a lot of changes at the back for City as they started without Ederson, John Stones and Kyle Walker, but the players who came in still did really well.”