NIGEL WINTERBURN thinks Mikel Arteta would be crazy to park the bus at Manchester City, saying: Not even tactical genius George Graham would do it.
The Gunners travel to the Etihad on Sunday with the chance to lay down an early Prem marker — to vanquish the memories of last season’s costly goalless draw.
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That result back in March ultimately cost Arteta’s men the title last term, finishing second behind Pep Guardiola’s side yet again by just two points.
Arsenal legend Winterburn, 60, was a part of ex-boss Graham’s glittering tenure — where the phrase “1-0 to The Arsenal” was coined due to the team’s highly rigid defensive structure.
But Graham, in charge from 1986 to 1995, was also a gambler in big bouts — famously winning 2-0 at Anfield in 1989 to finish above title rivals Liverpool on the final day.
Former full-back Winterburn, who won two league titles under Graham, says it would not be “disastrous” to play for a draw against City, especially after beating Tottenham last week.
But he argued: “They should go full out. I don’t believe for one minute Arteta would say otherwise.
“But I’ve never sat down with an Arsenal manager going, ‘Well, we’ll just take the draw today’. You have to manage the game as it goes along.
“Arsenal will have been working on everything they can do to stop Man City but also as well to hurt them.
“You might have to sit a little bit, protect what you’ve got.
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“But if you’ve got the opportunity to hurt the opposition, you’ve got to do that.
“If you think you can sit in and stop City creating even one chance, you’re on another planet.
“Technically, if you come away from this weekend with a draw against Man City, it’s not a disaster because of that big result of the North London derby.
“They’ll both be thinking they want to win this game but absolutely they mustn’t lose it.”
Arsenal’s defensive record away from home in 2024 has been stunning, conceding just three times — and have already kept four clean sheets in five games in all competitions this term.
With a growing injury list, including skipper Martin Odegaard, Arteta set up to frustrate Spurs before hitting on the counter, eventually winning via a Gabriel header from a corner.
Winterburn added: “I don’t think that style is an Arsenal plan but it’s great to have the armoury in your bag of… you know what, when you get pushed back, let’s not panic.
“If they do their jobs properly, if they communicate, they can stifle the opposition.
“A lot of people said it reminded them of Graham’s Arsenal and it was absolutely superb to watch as a defender, seeing how they worked for each other, to control it through to full-time.
“Tactically, George was a genius when he came up against certain opposition. But also, what we did is when we attacked, we knew what we wanted to do.
“We wanted to get the ball forward, we wanted to get wide, crosses into the box. So, we still had that game plan going forward.
“This Arsenal team are different to us, they want to play out from the back.
“I don’t know if Odegaard or Bukayo Saka completely enjoy the pleasure of the defending.
“But they know to achieve success and to beat teams, it is a necessity and they have shown they have the ability to sit in and be solid and counter.”
During the North London derby, Sky Sports’ Gary Neville compared Arsenal centre-back duo Gabriel and William Saliba to club legends Tony Adams and Steve Bould.
Winterburn — who played alongside Adams and Bould for club and country — said on behalf of freebets.com: “I understand where he is coming from.
“Those two are starting to make less and less mistakes and they’re looking very, very strong.”
Arsenal ratings vs Atalanta as Raya saves uninspiring Gunners in Italy
ARSENAL had some David Raya heroics to thank for a points in the Champions League opener.
Raya’s stunning double save just after the break spared Thomas Partey’s blushes after the midfielder gave away a penalty.
And that was the closest either side came to a goal in the 0-0 draw.
Here’s how SunSport’s Joshua Jones rated Mikel Arteta’s men…
David Raya – 9
Produced a simply stunning double save to stop Mateo Retegui’s penalty and then flung himself across to push away the follow-up rebound header – even better than his effort to deny Ollie Watkins.
Robbie Savage labelled it the “best save I’ve ever seen” while Gunners fans lauded their Spanish hero, who has conceded just once in five games so far this term.
Ben White – 7
Given the daunting task of trying to keep Ademola Lookman quiet inside a rocking Gewiss Stadium but completed the job with his classic relaxed, languid demeanour.
William Saliba – 8
One of the world’s top centre-backs but did not need to be anywhere near his best – solid enough when called upon, including excellent late sliding tackle in own box.
Retegui showed great movement but Saliba will have far sterner tests this season, none more so than up against Erling Haaland on Sunday.
Gabriel Magalhaes – 7
Like his partner Saliba, Gabriel helped ensure the Arsenal defence came out on top.
Starting to run out of words to say about this pair who just concede so few chances.
Jurrien Timber – 7
Adds an extra dimension to this Arsenal side – showing just how much he was missed when sidelined last season.
Arguably had the easiest evening’s work of the four defenders.
Thomas Partey – 4
Martin Keown described the Gunners’ retraction en masse during the transition as Arteta putting up his own “Thames Barrier”.
But Partey nearly allowed the floodgates to open by giving away the penalty three minutes into the second half – only to be rescued by Raya’s heroics.
Declan Rice – 6
Top awareness to sniff out the Atalanta danger and help control midfield.
But squandered a great chance to drive Arsenal forward when he won the ball on the halfway line and could have launched a potent counter.
Kai Havertz – 6
With Jesus starting up front, Havertz dropped into a deeper role – but he is perfectly comfortable there, too, and can carry the ball forwards.
Little to show for his evening, though, but continued to put a shift in defensively until the final whistle.
Buakyo Saka – 6
Drew the foul from Ederson who collected an early yellow and from the resulting free-kick almost squeezed a low effort into bottom corner but for top save.
Given a breather for final 20 minutes with an eye on Sunday.
Gabriel Jesus – 5
Captain on the night was his typical busy self early on getting himself around but virtually all of his involvement was outside the Atalanta penalty area.
Withdrawn before the hour mark.
Gabriel Martinelli – 4
Struggled to get in the game and then when he did get in, squandered a really good chance when he blazed over.
Definitely not hitting top form so far this season and may well find himself among the subs against Manchester City.
