Is Pep Guardiola turning into Jose Mourinho? Man City boss will only take his new-look side backwards if he continues looking to his old foe for tactical inspiration

Not only did City's performance fail the smell test with a wild whiff, but the numbers and stats back it up. The 32.% possession that his side recorded on Sunday was the lowest-ever for a Guardiola team. The extra wrinkle is this was done with the full 11 men on the pitch.

In his post-match press conference, Guardiola claimed it was not exactly by design for City to stand off Arsenal so much, rather Arteta's outfit had outwitted them and forced such a change. "I can't live in this country with another record!" Guardiola laughed. "I'm so proud of it. You have to give Arsenal a lot of credit. One time in ten years is not bad, eh? I have to prove myself again with a different strategy. So, now I have a transition team. I said I don't give a f*ck about the results, I want to see the spirit back in the training sessions and us enjoying. After that is tactics. We lost it last season and we had to recover. This week we have recovered. We have to continue. And from there we will, learn the process, the tactics, our way we feel more comfortable to win games and be proud of ourselves."

When asked whether there was a sense of enjoyment at his team effectively sh*thousing their way to a result, Guardiola shook and replied: "I suffered! I want the ball to be closer to [David] Raya, not Gigi [Donnarumma]."

While on the subject of Donnarumma, it's important to remember exactly why he was signed. Sure, he's an excellent shot-stopper and an imposing presence, but he's the polar opposite profile to his predecessor, Ederson. The manic Brazilian was arguably the world's best goalkeeper with the ball at his feet, someone capable of playing short and long. It even got a point where people asked if he was talented enough to play in midfield rather than between the sticks.

The pivot to Donnarumma isn't accidental. Well, at least in theory. The Italian treats the ball like a hot potato when asked to pass it, which is part of the reason why Paris Saint-Germain were happy to move him on despite last season's heroics en route to their first Champions League triumph.

"I wouldn't demand Gigi to do something he is uncomfortable with," Guardiola confirmed after his arrival. "We aren't asking Gigi to do what Ederson has done... it's not about undermining the other one. They are different."

In short, City are moving on from their days as a team who solely play from the back. They cannot count on the goalkeeper as an extra outfielder anymore. To properly utilise Donnarumma, they are almost asking opposition teams to pile more pressure on in their own box.

Guardiola's continued insistence on using the technically-limited Abdukodir Khusanov as a right-back speaks similar volumes, with the Uzbekistan international one of City's best players in the first half against Arsenal before being withdrawn at the break.

Nevertheless, City remain a work in progress, not only in their roster reconstruction but in adapting to a totally new way of playing. To their credit, they limited Arsenal to very few chances at the weekend, particularly as the clock wound down and they sought to waste as much time as possible, yet they were still undone. The instinct of their star players to push higher and squeeze the game afforded Martinelli the space to run into, and he made them pay with the equaliser. This way of playing has historically been the way to combat Guardiola's City. He and his players have continually bemoaned such tactics, so it's interesting that the roles have been reversed.

Perhaps more than any other player in the squad, 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri has not been afraid to share his views on what he deems negative football. After City were eliminated by Real Madrid on penalties at the quarter-final stage of the 2023-24 Champions League, he said: "To be honest, I saw only one team. In terms of defending, they defended (well). They knew how to suffer and we know how tough Real Madrid are. But in my opinion we should go through with that amount of chances but this is the trick of this competition."

Similarly scything quotes went viral across Europe a year earlier when his Spain side were beaten by Scotland in a European Championship qualifier, with the midfielder then commenting: "It's the way they play - for me it's a bit rubbish. It's always wasting time, they provoke you, they always fall. For me, this is not football. The referee has to take a part in this but he said nothing. It's a bit frustrating because we want to win and it's difficult because they waste time, waste time. It is what it is."

Taking off Erling Haaland and playing up to six defenders at any given point was such an outwardly negative move that it took even the Norwegian scoring sensation by surprise. We don't know what the opinions of the entire City squad are on their game-plan for the Arsenal draw, but maybe those thoughts don't even matter if they simply aren't up to scratch with them anyway.

Ironically, Rodri's absence through an ACL injury was largely seen as the main reason behind City's decline last season. Without their midfield anchor, quite literally one crowned as the best player in the world, they split open like a sieve out of possession and lost all sense of equilibrium. In that sense, it's a fair assessment, but one man can't be the reason for a team that had just won four titles in a row falling apart in such dramatic fashion.

We now have a decent enough sample size to say City are nowhere near the level of those previous winners. They had already lost Kevin De Bruyne in spirit last year with the midfielder ageing and entering a different stage of his career, and they haven't come close to finding someone to replace that creative void.

City used to be relentless, maybe only bettered by Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in that department, but they've lost that edge. Following the Arsenal draw, Guardiola and Bernardo Silva both bemoaned the schedule. It's true that this increased number of games will inevitably hamper a team's intensity, though that then begs the question of why the manager was so eager to trim his squad down from twenties into the teens. They had become used to winning for so long that they seemingly forgot how to reinvent and stay with the times, thus bringing about Guardiola's belated change to transitional tactics.

Through five games of the new Premier League season, supposed title contenders City are level on points with Ruben Amorim's Manchester United. The team most disappointed about Sunday's draw was the one who scored the last-minute equaliser. There's a eight point difference between those from the Etihad Stadium and the champions/league leaders of Liverpool. Those factors alone strongly suggest Guardiola's side will not finish the campaign in first place.

They've got Haaland in scintillating form - 13 goals for club and country in all competitions in 2025-26 - Rodri fit again and a safer pair of hands in Donnarumma, yet have never looked so off the pace this early into a season. City have a history of prevailing in two-team title races, but not as much when there are three teams fighting for the crown. Not only will they need to usurp and hold off Arsenal, but also Arne Slot's side, who have £240m worth of talent in Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak yet to even click into gear.

Guardiola's peak City would regularly go on long winning runs in order to blow away the competition and successfully chase down titles. The problem is they are a little while removed from that era, and it would take a real shock to end this season as the kings of England again.

The issue City cannot hide from is Guardiola's next chapter as a tactician. He has enjoyed unparalleled success across a managerial career that hasn't even spanned two decades yet, and is undoubtedly one of, if not the outright already, best coaches of all time.

Alas, very few gaffers can stay at the top forever. You only need to look at Guardiola's rival and opposite number, Jose Mourinho, to understand that modern men can become outdated. The strength and diversity of Premier League coaches is as strong as it's ever been, which poses a threat to the elite if they fall below their usual standards.

Mourinho's modus operandi for pretty much his whole time on a touchline has been to win at all costs, usually by means of protecting what you have. Through the first half of his career, this brought plenty of trophies and titles. You couldn't question him. Then, the rest of the footballing world caught up, and someone once considered the future of football was criticised for his prehistoric style.

The triumphs of total-football sides such as PSG, Barcelona, Liverpool and even Argentina and Spain on the international level are a neat yardstick of where we are as a sport. Attacking is back, but defending for your life is a much harder route to victory with so much firepower in the game nowadays.

Guardiola has recognised his need to evolve, to turn City into something more to make up the gap in quality to Liverpool and Arsenal domestically. He mustn't turn to Mourinho for inspiration, however.