Man City were right, Arsenal ARE masters of the dark arts as shock stats show Gunners are league’s biggest time-wasters

SEVERAL Manchester City stars were left unhappy at Arsenal for their “dark arts” during Sunday’s crunch clash at the Etihad.

And according to the stats, they may well have a point…

Pep Guardiola‘s side took the lead on nine minutes, when Erling Haaland prodded home following Savinho‘s through ball.

Arsenal subsequently turned the game on its head before half-time, with goals by Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel handing them the lead.

The match turned deep into first half stoppage time, when Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

Mikel Arteta‘s team tried desperately to hang on to their 2-1 lead, having just 12.5 per cent possession in the second half.

But City’s dominance finally told in the eighth minute of stoppage time, when John Stones bundled the ball into the net.

Following the 2-2 draw, many City players weren’t shy in voicing their displeasure at Arsenal’s tactics.

Bernardo Silva told TNT Sports Brasil: “There was only one team that came to play football.

“The other came to play to the limits of what was possible to do and allowed by the referee, unfortunately.

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“I’m glad we always enter the pitch to try to win every match.”

Goalscorer Stones, who had watched much of the game from the bench before coming on in the 78th minute, added of Arsenal: “They slow the game down.

“They get the keeper on the floor so they can get some information on to the pitch. We had to control our emotions during those tough times.

“I wouldn’t say they have mastered it but they have done it for a few years now so we knew to expect that.

“You can call it clever or dirty, whichever way you want to put it, but they break up the game which upsets the rhythm.

“They use it to their advantage and we dealt with it very well.”

‘THE DARK ARTS’

City skipper Kyle Walker then pulled no punches while talking to BBC Radio 5 Live: “As a football match, it is a great spectacle for the Premier League.

“Probably not so much certain stuff – I think it’s part and parcel of the game and we’ll say the dark arts.

“I think as a Manchester City fan or player, you are obviously frustrated. As an Arsenal manager, he is going to say well played and well managed.”

Manuel Akanji, when asked about the Gunners’ dark arts, defiantly said: “Yeah, but in the end we always won the title and I don’t think it’s going to be different this year.”

THE STATS BACK THEM UP

Statistics compiled by Statsperform show that City stars may well be right to complain.

So far this season, Arsenal have wasted the most time on average when the game stops for corners, free-kicks, goal kicks, kick-offs, penalties, drop balls and throw-ins.

Incorporating data from all of those categories, the Gunners take an average of 33.5 seconds each time – the joint-longest in the league alongside Aston Villa.

By comparison, their North London rivals Tottenham take just 24.3 seconds in the same situations.

While Liverpool waste the least time, clocking average delays of just 23.7 seconds.

City, meanwhile, take 26.4 seconds on average.

In fact, Arsenal’s delay time is only beaten by two sides in Europe’s top five leagues.

Lille pip them at 35.6 seconds per delay, while Genoa take 35.8 seconds on average.

Arsenal have become renowned as a strong set piece team – perhaps partly because of how they take their time.

The Gunners take a staggering 44.3 seconds to take their corners on average, more than any other side.

For comparison, Southampton take 26.2 seconds, with Spurs averaging 27.3 seconds.

It’s a similar tale for goal kicks, with David Raya wasting 40 seconds on average for each of his.

That’s 3.5 seconds more than the next highest tally, which is Ipswich’s 36.5 seconds.

For comparison, Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario takes just 17.4 seconds on average to take his goal kicks – the quickest time in the Premier League.