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MANCHESTER (AP) — It takes a lot to upset Manuel Akanji, but the quiet Swiss giant was frustrated by Arsenal’s persistent fouls in their draw with Manchester City.
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Akanji echoed the sentiment of those in the stands at the Etihad Stadium, who were furious at the lack of warnings to Arsenal’s players, especially in the first half when they walked a tightrope and were under City’s skin.
Speaking to reporters after the draw, Akanji, who has been excellent, was asked about Arsenal’s fouls during the match and none of them resulted in a yellow card.
“Yes, I don’t perceive it,” explained Akanji. In the first half, there was a very late attack on Stefan [Ortega] and for me it’s clearly a yellow card. I don’t need to say that they simply opposed us, but there were decisions against them as well. But I don’t know. I sense he made a mistake. There are regulations and I think there are transparent yellow cards everywhere. I don’t forget the action with Jorginho once he committed a tactical foul, then a second and he didn’t even concede. A yellow card for a foul, I didn’t perceive some of the decisions but we can still score a goal.
Did this allow Arsenal to disrupt City’s flow?
“Yes, definitely,” Akanji admitted. When we got it, we were stopped with fouls and if there was no action. It’s hard. “
Today, City are known as a master of tactical errors. Rodri in particular is a genius at saturating the midfield and committing small fouls that don’t lead to a yellow card but annoy opponents.
Arsenal beat Manchester City on a tactical foul and, given Arteta’s deep understanding of how City consistently attack, something helped the Gunners thwart this season’s reigning champions by restricting City to just one shot on target despite 72 consistent with penny ownership. on Sunday and blanked City in both games by winning 1-0 at home and drawing 0-0 away.
“Today we know why there was no goal, because they played very defensively and we didn’t manage to score any goals in attack,” laughs Akanji.
A rivalry is brewing between those two and genuine merit is looming as they now compete for trophies.
And remember: if City beat Real Madrid and Arsenal beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals over the next few weeks, we will also see them face off in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
Despite leading Liverpool by three points and second-placed Arsenal by one point with nine games remaining, Akanji feels City are in a smart position heading into the home stretch as they aim for a double treble.
“I’m confident,” Akanji told Pro Soccer Talk. Obviously, today we were looking to win, but we didn’t get the 3 points. But everything is still open. Nine Premier League games, now we have quarter-finals. “against Real Madrid next week. In all competitions we are still capable of winning them all and I hope we can do that. “
Akanji was also asked about attacking players not finding their rhythm, which has been a recurring theme among top teams this season, as City have failed to win any of their six games against the top five in the Premier League (with just five goals) and will host Aston Villa, Fourth-place finisher, Wednesday (watch live, 3:15 p. m. ET on Peacock Premium).
Is it simply due to the fact that your attackers click at the right time in the last third?
“I hope so. At the end of the day, it’s not up to me who plays up front,” Akanji explained. “Everyone is doing their best and hoping to play the next game. On Wednesday we have Aston Villa and then we hope to do our best and win the game. “