Manchester City defender John Stone has admitted that Arsenal make it difficult for their opposition to control their emotions by using their dark arts to slow games down and disrupt the other team’s rhythm.
Stones scored in the dying seconds of the game at the Etihad on Sunday to make it 2-2 and help Manchester City rescue a point from the game against Arsenal.
The Gunners played the second half with ten men after Leandro Trossard was sent off on the cusp of halftime after receiving a second yellow card for booting the ball away following a foul on Bernardo Silva.
Arsenal have been accused of repeatedly wasting time and disrupting the flow of the game but Stones admitted that it is what they expected from Mikel Arteta’s team.
Arsenal unlike many teams when it comes to using dark arts
The Manchester City star that his side rarely come across a team such as Arsenal who try to provoke their opposition by slowing the game down and disrupting their rhythm.
He believes Manchester City did well to keep their emotions in check and continue to try to play football.
Stones admitted Manchester City now expect Arsenal to do such stuff on the pitch as they have been playing this game for a few years now.
He feels Arsenal do it well to use it to their advantage and conceded that it is not easy to maintain any kind of flow or momentum given how frequently the Gunners disrupt the game.
“[It was] a difficult afternoon for both teams, how they stop the play and use the side of football that not many teams do”, Stone told Sky Sports.
“[They] make it difficult, slow it down, get the ‘keeper on the floor to get some information on and we had to control our emotions during those times.
“They’ve done it for a few years and we know to expect that.
“You can call it clever or dirty whichever way you want to put it they break up the game and upset the rhythm for everyone. They use it to their advantage and I thought we dealt with it really well.
“It’s not easy when those things are happening and you’re trying to gain momentum… those little stoppages stop that but we controlled our emotions really well.”
