We don't like it — Guardiola explains why he played 'Haramball' tactics against Arsenal

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted that Arsenal's quality forced them to deploy an ultra-defensive setup—colloquially referred to as ‘Haramball’ by football fans—and rely on transitions. 

The Cityzens opened the scoring inside 10 minutes and 'parked the bus' from that point on, resisting wave after wave of attacks from Mikel Arteta's side before a late Martinelli strike ensured shares were spoilt.

Speaking after the match, the Spaniard praised his team's strong mentality. He admitted that they struggled to press Arsenal and had to resort to attacking via transitions. 

“We were strong mentally,” he said, per the BBC. “It's difficult to play when our intentional high pressing is not working because they are good.

"Last season we lost 5-1 and today we drew. We can't say we're satisfied but we can't say it's not a fair result.

"We had chances on the transition but it's not the way we like to play. I give credit to Arsenal. The mentally and resilience from our team."

Manchester City only had 33% possession in the game, the lowest ever recorded by a Pep Guardiola team in a league game. The draw takes them to 9th on the log and eight points behind the leaders, Liverpool.