Mikel Arteta Snaps At Reporter After Refusing to Answer Question

Mikel Arteta refused to answer a question about his midfield selection following Arsenal's 1-1 draw against Manchester City as he brought up the club's recent Champions League win over Athletic Bilbao.

Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to score a late equaliser for the Gunners as they walked away with a 1-1 draw against Manchester City, who took an early lead through Erling Haaland.

Arsenal now sit second in the Premier League table on 10 points, five behind leaders Liverpool.

After the full-time whistle on Sunday, Arteta faced questions about his tactics, with one reporter asking about his decision to start Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino as the midfield three.

As seen in the clip below, the Spaniard was asked: "Can you just talk us through your thinking behind that midfield three and what you thought they could do to start the match?"

Arteta was in no mood to entertain the question. "No, we don't have time for that," he said, before adding: "There's a lot of things to do that."

The reporter was keen to get a more detailed answer from Arteta in the press conference and asked for a "very basic analysis" of what he thought the midfield three could do against Pep Guardiola's side.

But the Arsenal boss wasn't having any of it. He responded: "Because I say it was the best one to start the game. Nobody asked me about the midfield three in Bilbao, nobody."

The reporter hit back, saying it was a different game, but Arteta was sticking to his guns. "That's right," he replied. "But it's the same midfield."

Asked why he decided to keep it, Arteta added: "Because I believe it was the best thing for the team."

Arteta pictured during Sunday's clash between Arsenal and Manchester City. Image credit: Getty

Away from the press conference and it was an unusual afternoon for Pep Guardiola as he watched Arsenal dominate possession for large periods.

In fact, City's possession figure of 32.8 per cent in Sunday's game was the lowest that a team managed by Guardiola has recorded in a top-flight league fixture.

Guardiola later joked that he was made to “suffer” after parking the bus for the first time in a decade.

After being told about the possession stats, the City boss laughed. “I can’t live in this country with another record," he smiled. "I’m so proud of it. You have to give Arsenal a lot of credit."

He added: "One time in 10 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*** about the results, I want to see the spirit back in the training sessions and us enjoying."