Kevin De Bruyne says Manchester City's aggression in the second half at Arsenal was crucial to their three points at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
De Bruyne had given City the lead, arguably against the run of play, with a sublime lob over Aaron Ramsdale, but Bukayo Saka levelled from the penalty spot to send the sides in level at the break. Pep Guardiola described City's first half tactics as 'horrible', and said he made changes to his system before Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland sealed a vital win.
Explaining just what those changes were, De Bruyne said there were tactical and mental changes that allowed City's quality to prove the difference in a game of few margins.
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"I think we needed [his goal] because I don’t think we played well in the first half. I think we did in the second half and that was an important situation for us," De Bruyne said.
"My takeaway is that the second half was much better. We responded much better, there was more aggression and more purpose in our play. I think the third goal showed it. When I gave it to Erling I thought it was a difficult situation for him but he finished it. Seems easy for him sometimes. He did the job
"Arsenal are exceptional. They play such good football and it is hard to play against them. They have such energy, young guys, they do what they needed to do. For me, the first half they were better and the second half we were better. In the right moment we had that quality where it matters."
Pressed on exactly what changes City made at the break, De Bruyne noted City's aggression in chasing the victory rather than allowing Arsenal to continue to dictate play.
He said: "We were more aggressive. I think the first half we let have too much space on the ball and especially defensively we couldn’t get near them. I think the second half we did that and they couldn’t really get through that. I didn’t think they created a lot anymore. It was just, in general, much better from us.
"We went more man to man like they did with us. I don’t think it’s an easy game to watch because there are a lot of mistakes being made when both teams defend that way. I think we found some situations where we hurt them.
"They are a really good team. They merit being where they are and we had to come here and show something. We were able to do that in the second half. It doesn’t change anything, we just have to keep grinding out the results and play as well as we can.
"Two weeks ago we were far away and now we are closer so we have to try and win our games and I’m sure Arsenal will try and win a lot of games."
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