Declan Rice has revealed the details of Mikel Arteta’s half-time team-talk after Arsenal came from behind to draw with Man City.
The Gunners went in at the break trailing by one despite having the better of the play, but were frustrated by the visitors’ stalwart defence.
Arsenal came out for the second half with all guns blazing, and eventually got one back in injury time thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s deft finish.
Rice said that with City starting to crack before the break, Arteta simply asked his players to keep pushing.
He said: “I could sense a bit of frustration inside the stadium (in the first half) because we had so much of the ball, but they defended really well.
“We maybe had one or two chances in the first half. We knew [in the] second half we had to step on it and within the first five minutes we created two or three.
“The message at half-time was to keep going, keep pushing, keep overloading them.”
He continued, pointing out that City changed to a more defensive formation in the late stages due to Arsenal’s dominance.
“In the end, they changed to a back five, went to a 5-4-1, which I’ve never seen them do, obviously trying to hang on. Obviously, to get the draw at the end was good for us.”
For Rice, City’s formation adjustment was proof of Arsenal’s improvement since he signed in 2023.
“I think we’ve gained the respect of the opposition, they know the quality that we have, back to front.
“I think in my time here at Arsenal, we probably haven’t dominated a game like that against Man City like we did today.
“I thought in the first half, we passed and moved really well, and in the second it was constant pressure.
“There was always that threat from them off the counter-attack. I think we thoroughly deserved the goal. I think if we had come away losing that game we would have been really disappointed.”
