Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal are not lacking in brutes after taking time to digest their 4-1 defeat by Manchester City in which they were bullied by the Premier League’s new leaders.
Aside from their splendid style of play, City’s physicality overpowered Arsenal, who in the past have benefited from having warrior-like figures such as Patrick Vieira and Martin Keown.
Arteta maintained that size does not matter, citing how City won the 2017-18 Premier League with 100 points using slight players such as David Silva and Sergio Aguero, and how Barcelona dominated Europe with Xavi, Andres Iniesta and, of course, Lionel Messi.