Low block: Is there more to Pep than possession?

City nearly succeeded in defending their way to full points against Arsenal

- Dhiman Sarkar

Around the 70-minute mark as away fans la-la-ed to “Hey Jude” and were countered by the “Arsenal, Arsenal” growl that rose from the bowels of the Emirates and into the London sunshine, a piece of statistic flickered on the television screen.

Arsenal, according to the official broadcasters, had made 33 entries in the rival penalty box; Manchester City five.

By then, City were playing five defenders with a bank of four in front. It was as low block as low block can be. As per The Athletic, City have been defending 26m from their goal this term, nine metres deeper than they were in 2024-25. Soon after, Erling Haaland, who had put City ahead in the ninth minute, was substituted by Nico Gonzalez. That meant shifting Jeremy Doku from being City’s player for the release ball to No.9.