"He is walking in a situation where we still have the ball” - Ian Wright expresses frustration over 24-year-old Arsenal star in Man City draw
Ian Wright voiced his displeasure with Arsenal forward Kai Havertz for an apparent lack of effort during the side's 0-0 draw against Manchester City on Sunday, March 31.
The former Arsenal striker claimed that the German wasn't proactive enough with his movement while his team had the ball.
Wright told Premier League Productions (via HITC):
“It’s not even frustration with some of the runs, it’s just I see a lot of this with strikers, at the moment.”
“You look at Havertz here. He is walking in a situation where we still have the ball, so you can still get yourself onside and then you can make a run. When you look at that, he should have done that earlier (moved back into position to make a run)."
“This pass from Odegaard, with the quality he has got and in a game like this, you have to make that pass around this left side, onto his left foot and take it away from the defender, so he can go and get a touch. I think it’s just moments like that. That’s the difference and that’s the margins.”
A moment of brilliance from Havertz could have made a massive difference in a game Arsenal were content to play defensively. Mikel Arteta's side had just 27% of possession as they looked to hit the defending champions on the counter.
The 24-year-old initially struggled to settle at the Emirates Stadium but has slowly grown into his role. He has nine goals and three assists in 40 appearances this season.
Manchester City star expresses frustration with Arsenal tactics in goalless draw
Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji called out Arsenal for resorting to tactical fouling during their 0-0 draw on Sunday. He also suggested that referee Anthony Taylor should have managed the fixture better.
Akanji said (via The Guardian):
“Definitely. When we got through sometimes they stopped us with the fouls. If there’s no action to it [from the referee], it’s hard.”
“I don’t understand. One in the first half was a very late tackle on Stefan [Ortega]. For me it is clearly a yellow card. I don’t want to say just against us. There were also some decisions against them that I didn’t understand why he gave a foul."
The Gunners committed 20 fouls to City's nine as they looked to disrupt the flow of the game with their defensive strategy. It eventually worked out as they restricted the defending champions to just one shot on target.
The result meant Liverpool held on to the top spot with their win over Brighton and Hove Albion and now have a two-point advantage over Arsenal. Manchester City are a point behind the Gunners in third.