John Stones described Arsenal as “clever or dirty” after scoring an equaliser eight minutes into stoppage to snatch a 2-2 draw for Manchester City in Sunday’s Premier League top-of-the-table clash at the Etihad.
Stones’ goal extended City’s unbeaten home record to 48 games, a run stretching back to a defeat against Brentford in November 2022, but it came after Arsenal had defended deep for the entire second half following the 45th-minute dismissal of Leandro Trossard for a second yellow card, issued for kicking the ball away.
Despite the fourth official signalling seven minutes of stoppage time at the end of the 90 minutes, referee Michael Oliver eventually played an additional nine minutes due to Arsenal players either taking too long with set pieces or players going to ground because of injury or cramping.
Stones, a second-half substitute, said Arsenal’s approach to the game made it difficult for City to find their rhythm.
“It was a difficult afternoon for both teams — how [Arsenal] stop the play, how they use the side of football that not many teams do,” Stones told Sky Sports. “They slow the game down, they get the keeper on the floor so they can get some information onto the pitch.
“We had to control our emotions during those tough times, and I felt like we did. There were a lot of tough tackles, some silly decisions, but we did well.”
When asked whether Arsenal had mastered the so-called “dark arts” of time-wasting, Stones said City knew what to expect from Mikel Arteta’s team.
“I wouldn’t say they have mastered it, but they have done it for a few years now, so we knew to expect that,” Stones said. “You can call it clever or dirty, whichever way you want to put it.
“But they break up the game, which upsets the rhythm. They use it to their advantage and we dealt with it very well.”
Bernardo Silva was in full agreement with his teammate Stones over the tactics used by Arsenal, which in part led to an injury to teammate Rodri in the first half, the Portugal international said.
“It started in the first second. From the very first play we saw what was going to happen,” Silva said after the game. “We ended up having a player injured, because in 10 minutes they sent him to the ground twice. It turned out that the first goal we conceded was a play in which the referee called our captain to talk and then didn’t let him recover his position.
“The second goal we concede is a move in which our goalkeeper is blocked and the referee allows it. And then a series of events that the referee was allowing, wasting time, and what I think bothers me the most is that we have meetings with the FA at the start of the season, they always tell us that they’re going to control these situations and prevent them from happening.
“But at the end of the day, words are worth little, because they talk, they talk and nothing happens.”
Stones said his goal came as a result of manager Pep Guardiola telling him to abandon his usual defensive role to play as a forward alongside Erling Haaland, who scored his 100th City goal in the game.
“Pep wanted me to play closer to Erling, get higher up the pitch so when we got crosses in we could start to win more aerial duels,” Stones said. “The team is so interchangeable. Everyone is in and out of the pockets, so fluid in movements and recognising if someone is out out of position, you have to occupy it.
“I came on and tried to be inside the box for more crosses. One dropped to me and thankfully I put it in the back of the net. I’m really pleased to have scored the goal like that.”
The result put City in sole possession of first place in the Premier League, one point ahead of Liverpool and two ahead of Arsenal after five matches.
