EPL: Why Manchester City had just 32.8% possession against Arsenal | Football News

The chief narrative coming out of the Arsenal vs Manchester City Premier League match on Sunday wasn’t about any of the big names on the field but one off it. Even after Gabriel Martinelli scored the equalizer for Arsenal in the 93rd, the name reverberating around the clash was City manager Pep Guardiola and his tactics.The City team, known for playing a fluid passing style and the almost obsessive need to keep possession, started morphing into a different machine after the 9th minute goal Erling Haaland. The positive attacking mindset was suddenly thrown out of the window and they were content to mostly sit at the back and soak in the Arsenal pressure. It also played right into Guardiola’s hands that Arsenal were not at their best on the day, struggling to break down their rivals even with the help of their greatest weapons: the set-pieces.
As the game progressed, City’s formation changed from 4-4-2 to sometimes 5-4-1 and then to 5-5-0 during the dying embers with Arsenal huffing and puffing all match long but struggling to find an opening through the middle of the park. The way Guardiola managed the game was pretty reminiscent of the tactics that his rival Jose Mourinho had almost perfected where his teams would sit deep in their own half and crowd the area, making it difficult for the opponents to score around so many bodies.
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To do that, Guardiola sacrificed his philosophy, with the City players just content to hoof the ball from anywhere near their own half instead of trying to keep it, giving Arsenal back the possession which resulted in the astonishing stat of 32.8% possession for the Manchester team, the lowest ever recorded any side managed the Catalan.
According to Guardiola, the tactics against the Gunners was a well-thought-out plan in order to not play his players to the ground after two tough matches. (AP)
Guardiola losing his mojo?
With City under tremendous pressure in the last couple of seasons having gone trophyless in 2024-25 and managing just 7 points from the first 5 matches in the league, questions are now being raised if Guardiola is finally losing his mojo. Has he become so desperate to go back to the good old days that he would even sacrifice his longstanding philosophy of possession based attacking football and resort to for the lack of a better term, a more simplified brand of football?
The answer is not really. According to the man himself, the tactics against the Gunners was a well-thought-out plan in order to not play his players to the ground after two tough matches against Manchester United and Napoli in the last 7 days. And he almost succeeded in trumping Arsenal with these tactics.
“We played tough games this week – Manchester United and in the Champions League – and today (Sunday) we played against a powerful team. Hats off to our team for the resilience. It’s so difficult when you’re not effective with high pressing, it’s always tough in the build-up. We were incredibly tired. The game against Napoli was so emotional and after that recovery day we have four or five hours to travel to London. Arsenal fought in the last two Premier League title races and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League so it’s so difficult. We had a lot of fatigue with many players. We also have a lot of injuries,” Guardiola said after the match.

Manchester City’s 32.8% possession figure in today’s game against Arsenal was the lowest that a team managed Pep Guardiola has had in a top-flight league game. pic.twitter.com/Z654LszLjj
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 21, 2025
“We don’t try to be like this but when the opponent is better we defend deeper and counter-attack, but that’s not our intention. I would prefer not to do it but you have to at this level. I take a point and in some games we have to adjust,” the Spaniard added.Story continues below this ad
With all the hue and cry about Guardiola’s apparent change in tactics in Sunday’s fixture, people might have forgotten that this is not the first time he has employed them. Unlike certain coaches, Guardiola can evolve when the situation demands, which is a testament to his longevity.
In a high voltage match vs Liverpool in 2018, Guardiola and then Reds manager Jurgen Klopp showed the world that they too could pull off a defensive masterclass instead of going on the attack all the time. In that match, both Liverpool and City both had 2 shots on target apiece and came out with a 0-0 draw.
In 2023 also, Guardiola’s City had 36.5% possession against Arsenal while you need to go back further to find out City’s second-worst possession statics after Sunday’s low. That came in 2016 in the Champions League group stages against Barcelona where City had 34.66% possession but went on to win the match 3-1.
So, Manchester City fans can relax. Sunday’s match was just Guardiola adapting to the situation which demanded it. With a long season coming up and the fixtures congestion, it was the need of the hour to preserve the fitness of players. Even though City aren’t likely to play like this the whole season, don’t be surprised if these tactics are deployed again which should count as a net positive. Because unlike last season, City seem to have found another avenue to get results.