Man City star Manuel Akanji aims brutal dig at Arsenal… accusing Mikel Arteta’s side of always looking for ‘drama’ – while ‘we always win the title’
- Man City salvaged a home draw against title contenders Arsenal in the 98th minute
- Many of City’s stars criticised the Gunners’ tactics on Sunday
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Manuel Akanji insisted that Arsenal are always looking for “drama” and that even though Mikel Arteta’s team are among the best in Europe when it comes to “dark arts”, Manchester City will still win the Premier League title again.
“When we play them, that’s always what they’re looking for: the drama. Going hard in the duels, defending with 11 players in their own penalty area and then trying to score from set pieces,” Man City’s Akanji said after the two sides drew on Sunday.
“I don’t think there are many better than them (the dark arts) in Europe. Yes (they are the masters of the dark arts), but in the end we always win the title and I don’t think it will be different this year,” Akanji added.
The City defender called on the referees to take action against Arsenal’s time-consuming antics, saying the referees want more competition.
Leandro Trossard was sent off in injury time in the first half and 17-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly was shown a yellow card before coming on for his Arsenal debut in the second half, appearing to tell goalkeeper David Raya to feign injury so the clock could run out.
Manuel Akanji has criticised Arsenal’s tactics in their dramatic 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium
The defender believes the Gunners are looking for ‘drama’ and are masters of the ‘dark arts’
“That’s ultimately what they’re looking for. We have to defend ourselves because in every duel and every free kick that was given, they went to the ground,” Akanji said.
“Players get on the ground, sprint back, get on the ground again. One of their teammates went to the goalie to tell him to get on the ground and stuff like that. We can’t do anything about that.
“Ultimately it’s up to the referee to control these situations throughout the season. It worked for them, so if they’re happy with that one point, we’re not – we tried to get more but they’re happy with that,” the 29-year-old added.
Despite John Stones equalising for City in the 98th minute, Akanji refused to concede the reigning champions now have the edge in the title race.
“It’s not decided yet for the league. We have to get 99 points and hopefully we can get them all and then we’ll see how it goes,” he stressed.
Several Arsenal players suffered from cramp in the second half, including David Raya
Pep Guardiola’s side take on Watford in the Carabao Cup tomorrow, just 48 hours after their match against Arsenal.
“I don’t know how it can happen? How can we play in two days? But we have to do what we have to do and be here by the middle of the week,” Akanji said.
