Man City made to swat ´annoying´ Arsenal fly in Premier League rivalry, says James

David James believes Arsenal’s blossoming rivalry with Manchester City can only intensify should they win the Premier League title this season.

The latest instalment of Pep Guardiola squaring off against his apprentice, Mikel Arteta, delivered an enthralling encounter at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Erling Haaland’s 100th City strike was followed by Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes goals, with Leandro Trossard then seeing red after delaying the restart in a pulsating first 45 minutes.

The hosts struggled to make their man advantage count, though, registering eight shots on target from the 27 they attempted before substitute John Stones’ late intervention snatched a point eight minutes into stoppage time.

But the aftermath of the contest saw tensions that had been brimming during the game boil over, with players from both sides exchanging in a war of words after a battle for the ages at the Etihad.

It is not the first time Arsenal have engaged in a rivalry with a side from Manchester, having gone toe-to-toe at the Premier League summit with United in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Former City goalkeeper David James is adamant Guardiola’s side hold the competitive edge over their title rivals, though, likening Arsenal to an “annoying fly” buzzing around to try and halt the Citizens’ dominance.

“I like the way this is developing. As you said, I think the rivalries in the past, probably the easiest one to go back to, is Arsenal and Manchester United,” James told Stats Perform.

“That was because Arsenal won the league, Manchester United won the league, and you’ve got champions against champions.

“I think with Arteta’s team at the moment, if they win the league, then this rivalry will intensify.

“At the moment, it’s kind of like Man City keeps swatting off an annoying fly because they keep winning the title.”

Warriors.

So much more to come from this team. pic.twitter.com/Qw73TWhz2D

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 22, 2024

However, it was another blot on Arteta’s record against his mentor, with the Gunners head coach having won just one of his eight league meetings against Guardiola since his arrival at the club in 2019.

Arsenal have finished runners-up to the Citizens in the past two Premier League seasons, missing out on a first title since 2003-04 by two points last term.

The Gunners managed to take four points off Guardiola’s side last campaign, with Arteta earning his first league victory over City last September courtesy of Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected effort.

Arsenal showed more signs of their maturation before going down to 10 men on Sunday, recovering well after Haaland’s ninth-minute opener – the earliest goal they had conceded home or away in the league in 2024.

Gabriel’s header marked his 14th goal from a corner routine, while Calafiori became the 20th Arsenal player to net on his first Premier League start, and only the second to do so from outside the box after Fabio Vieira in September 2022.

The encounter gave a brief insight into what the next eight months have in store, with James unsure whether the result would give either side the mental edge at this early stage of the campaign.

“I think there will be an impact. Whether it’s positive or negative is the issue here,” James continued.

“For City, the issue will be how do we set up the corners to not allow these opportunities? If fouls are not going to get picked up by referees or VAR, then you need to rethink the way you set up because the first one for Gabriel, I think it was [Jeremy] Doku who was marking Gabriel.

“Mismatch to start with. The second one, Kyle Walker was there and effectively a mismatch again. So other teams will look at it and go, ‘well, how can we set up?’

“Other teams, if they’re cute enough, will work out a way of defeating City on corners. Of course, get a corner first, then worry about getting it.

“But also, on a positive side, they can improve on this. When Jack Grealish came on, there was a different dynamic. Jack actually did stuff that I wasn’t expecting him to do. I thought he was going to get crosses on his right foot.

“Instead, he was running at players. He got the corner for the equaliser, and he also put the ball across to [Mateo] Kovacic. So there’s a lot for City to look at to improve on, which would make them better.

“From the Arsenal point of view, disappointment of losing three points in the end, I think 45 minutes of defending, there’s a lot that you’d be happy with.

“The fact that they got the goal from the corner, and unless VAR and the officials actually clamp down on what they’re doing, they’ll get more success from it.”

City centurion! pic.twitter.com/tYQOVaJz38

— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 23, 2024