Man City's Stones: Arsenal's time-wasting tactics expected

John Stones described Arsenal as “clever or dirty” after scoring an eighth-minute stoppage-time equaliser to earn Manchester City a 2-2 draw in their Premier League top-of-the-table clash at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

With that goal, Stones extended City's 48-game unbeaten home run, stretching back to their defeat to Brentford in November 2022. The goal came, however, after Arsenal had defended deep for the entire second half after Leandro Trossard was sent off in the 45th minute for a second yellow card – the second for kicking the ball away.

Although the fourth official had signalled seven minutes of added time at the end of the 90 minutes, referee Michael Oliver eventually allowed the game to be extended by nine additional minutes as several Arsenal players either took too long on set pieces or fell to the ground due to injury or cramp.

And Stones, who came on as 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 they (Arsenal) stop the game, how they use the side of the football that not many teams use,” Stones told Sky Sports. “They slow the game down, they bring the goalkeeper onto the field so they can get information onto the field.”

“We had to keep our emotions under control during these difficult times and I felt we managed to do that. There were a lot of hard tackles and a few stupid decisions, but we did well.”

Asked if Arsenal had mastered the so-called “dark art” of time-wasting, Stones said City knew what to expect from Mikel Arteta's team.

“I wouldn't say they've mastered it, but they've been doing it for a few years now, so we knew to expect it,” Stones said. “You can call it clever or dirty, however you want to put it.”

“But they interrupt the game and disrupt the rhythm. They use that to their advantage and we dealt with it very well.”

Bernardo Silva was in complete agreement with teammate Stones over Arsenal's tactics, which partly led to his teammate Rodri's injury in the first half, the Portugal international said.

“It started from the first second. From the first move we saw what was going to happen,” Silva said after the game. “We had an injured player because they sent him to the ground twice in 10 minutes. It turned out that the first goal was a move where the referee called our captain for a talk and then didn't let him get back to his position.”

“The second goal was due to an action where our goalkeeper is blocked and the referee allows it. And then a series of events that the referee allows, a waste of time. What bothers me most is that at the beginning of the season we have meetings with the FA. They always tell us that they will 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 was due to manager Pep Guardiola telling him to abandon his usual defensive role and play as a striker alongside Erling Haaland, who scored his 100th goal for City in the game.

“Pep wanted me to play closer to Erling and be further forward so we could win more aerial duels on crosses,” said Stones. “The team is so interchangeable. Everyone is in and out of the gaps, the movements are so fluid and you recognise when someone is out of position and have to fill them.”

“I came in and tried to be in the box to get more crosses. One fell at my feet and luckily I was able to put it in the net. I'm really happy I scored the goal that way.”

This result puts City in first place in the Premier League after five games, one point ahead of Liverpool and two ahead of Arsenal.