Pep Guardiola suggested John Stones’ muscle problem in Manchester City’s 1-0 FA Cup win over Arsenal may have stemmed from him not being ready in the ‘opening minutes’, while Mikel Arteta admitted he was after that could do without Thomas Partey midfielder was injured in the game.
While Nathan Aké’s second-half goal at the Etihad Stadium on Friday put City into Monday’s fifth-round tie, Guardiola criticized Stones, who had to be replaced, when asked if the defender had a hamstring problem.
“I think so,” he said. “Today he wasn’t ready, I saw it in the first few minutes, maybe he was tired, I don’t know, but he wasn’t ready and that’s why you get injured when something like that happens.” Whether Guardiola suggested Stones did not warmed up properly is unclear – If not, then it seems like a surprise that the manager picked him.
Speaking on Partey, who also came on as a substitute, Arteta said: “He had some ailments and it just kept getting worse. He was uncomfortable going on. He’ll have an MRI tomorrow or the day after and see what he has.”
City’s elimination of Arsenal comes ahead of the first of two league meetings between the champions and leaders next month. Guardiola admitted he was surprised by Arteta’s man-marking but said it could help him prepare for the Emirates meeting.
“Now I know they can do it,” he said. “Maybe we’ll change something [then]especially the players I get to pick.”
Arteta explained why Arsenal were knocked out. “We took chances in the big games this season, so we beat a lot of big teams. Unfortunately we didn’t do it today and we didn’t defend the action with Aké in the box where the left-back puts him in the corner with his right foot, so there’s not much you can do.
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“It’s not just that, it’s the composure, especially in the second half when we had it and the momentum and we created three or four good openings there and we have to be more reckless to put those balls in the net .”