Pep Guardiola: Man City 'suffered' against Arsenal because of my 'horrible' tactics

• Guardiola deployed Bernardo Silva at left-back
• Switched him to an attacking position in the second half
• Hailed the result after sealing top spot

WHAT HAPPENED? The defending champions roared back to the top of the Premier League table courtesy of a 3-1 win over Arsenal, with Kevin De Bruyne opening the scoring after pouncing on a Takehiro Tomiyasu mistake. Bukayo Saka scored a deserved equaliser from the penalty spot for the Gunners to leave City reeling at the interval, but they upped their game in the second half as Guardiola tweaked his system, with Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland striking in the final 20 minutes to seal the three points. Guardiola deployed Bernardo Silva in an unnatural role at left-back from the start and Arsenal had a lot of joy down the right wing as a consequence, but the Portuguese star swapped flanks in the second period and pushed forward.

WHAT THEY SAID: When Guardiola was asked what frustrated him in the first half, he replied: "My tactics. Because I tried something new and it was horrible. [In the] second half we were more like we are. In the first half they had one moment in the middle. We struggled a lot to control it, that is why we suffered and they were much better, but in the second half we were there."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: City moved to the summit on goal difference after beating Arsenal, although Mikel Arteta's men still have a game in hand. Guardiola added on the importance of his side's victory at Emirates Stadium: "They have one game less so I consider they are top of the league. But we could have come here a few weeks ago eight or nine points behind, and losing here it would have been almost over. Now, because of the fact they dropped points, we came here for the chance to be close. We won the game and we are there."

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY & ARSENAL? Guardiola will once again rally his troops on Saturday against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, while Arsenal will take in a trip to Aston Villa on the same day.