Man City Superstar Blames Arsenal’s ‘Weak’ Mentality as Reason Why They Lost Premier League

Man City Superstar Blames Arsenal’s ‘Weak’ Mentality as Reason Why They Lost Premier League

Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
May 20, 2024 at 6:47 AM
In this article:
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Arsenal
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Manchester City
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Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante logo
Rodri
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  • Arsenal's 'weak' mentality has been cited as the reason behind their title loss
  • The Gunners missed out on the Premier League title to Man City on the final day
  • They finished two points behind the Citizens, who won the league with 91 points

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Manchester City midfielder, Rodri, didn't hold back in his assessment of Arsenal following his team's historic Premier League triumph on Sunday, May 19.

City found themselves in a tight race for the Premier League title heading into the final round of games, holding a slender two-point lead.

Rodri, Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard, Manchester City, Premier League, mentality.
Arsenal agonisingly lost the Premier League title to Manchester City on the final day. Photos by Catherine Ivill - AMA, Alex Livesey - Danehouse and James Gill.
Source: Getty Images

Securing a victory against West Ham was imperative to clinch a fourth successive league crown, and they delivered.

A double from Phil Foden, recently crowned Premier League Player of the Season, and a second-half strike from Rodri himself rendered Mohammed Kudus's brilliant bicycle kick goal a mere consolation.

Although Arsenal managed a 2-1 come-from-behind win against Everton at the Emirates, finishing with 89 points, they fell short of City by two points, per the Premier League.

Rodri explains why City won EPL ahead of Arsenal

Many have pinpointed Arsenal's home loss to Aston Villa as the decisive moment in their title challenge.

However, Rodri suggests that it was their draw at the Etihad Stadium earlier in the season that truly cost them.

In that match, the Gunners put up a defensive masterclass and showed little attacking intent, with just 27% possession—their lowest of the season.

Rodri believes that City's proactive mentality, exemplified by their approach in such games, ultimately made the difference between the two teams.

"To be honest, I think it’s in here [the mind]. It’s the mentality," the Spanish midfield icon told Optus Sport, as cited by Metro.
He continued: "Great players are all over the league, all over the clubs,"
"Arsenal also they deserve. They did an unbelievable season, but I think the difference was in here [points to head again],"

The former Atletico Madrid player highlighted Arsenal's "defeatist" mindset, pointing out that their decision to settle for a draw at the Etihad ultimately proved costly.

He suggested that if the roles had been reversed, Manchester City would have pursued victory due to their elite mentality.

"When they came here, they faced us here at the Etihad, I saw them and said, “Ah, these guys, they don’t want to beat us, they just want a draw,”
"And that mentality, I don’t think we would do it the same way."

Tottenham star mocks Arsenal

Sports Brief also reported that Tottenham Hotspur's Richarlison seemed to subtly mock Arsenal for missing out on the Premier League title.

In response to various reactions on social media about Arsenal's near miss with the championship, Richarlison appeared to take pleasure in seeing his team's North London rivals finish the season without any silverware.

Authors
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe photo
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe is a Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and La Liga editor with five-year experience. He previously worked with Sports Corna and 360SportsGH.
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