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Former Premier League boss Sam Allardyce has weighed in on Arsenal's defensive display against Manchester City, describing it as a strategy of parking "a double-decker bus" to secure a valuable point.
The Gunners secured a 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium, halting Man City’s goal-scoring run in a fierce contest.
The draw kept them in the title race as they aim for their first Premier League trophy since 2004.
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Allardyce's take on Arsenal’s performance against City
Speaking on the William Hill and Footy Accumulators' podcast, as reported by the Sun, No Tippy Tappy Football, Allardyce offered insights into Mikel Arteta's approach and its implications for the title race.
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"People are calling Arsenal’s performance at the Etihad a masterclass in defending – it wasn’t," Allardyce remarked.
"Arteta clearly asked the team simply not to lose. A point away at Manchester City is valuable and that is what they set out to get. They parked the bus – a double-decker bus at that!"
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He acknowledged Arteta's strategic decisions but stopped short of labelling them as strokes of genius, noting, "Everybody was looking forward to it being an entertaining game and it wasn’t, but I have to say that doesn’t happen very often anymore. I have to give Arteta full marks for the way they went about nullifying Manchester City."
Saliba's Impact on Arsenal's Title Ambitions
Allardyce also highlighted the significance of Arsenal's defensive stability, particularly with the presence of centre-back William Saliba.
"Losing Saliba was the reason they lost the league last year because as soon as he was out they started conceding goals. This year he is still there and he is the best center-back in the country at the moment."
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Looking ahead to the title race with just eight matchweeks remaining, Allardyce suggested that City's defensive vulnerabilities could be their Achilles' heel.
"If they can fix their defensive issues as they have been too easy to score against lately, City will win it for a fourth time in a row," he predicted.
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