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West Ham United striker Michail Antonio recently revealed his conversation with Declan Rice ahead of Arsenal's clash against Manchester City on March 31.
The two Premier League title challengers played out a drab goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium. The game saw the Gunners surrender possession and focus on the defensive side of things rather than play their usual expansive football. City, meanwhile, failed to break the north London side down and had to be satisfied with just a point.
Michail Antonio, who shared the pitch 182 times with Rice during their time together at West Ham, incidentally met the midfielder before the clash. He recently shared his conversation with the Gunners midfielder on the Footballer's Football Podcast, saying (via The Boot Room):
“The craziest thing was we saw Dec, we landed back from Newcastle and Arsenal were at the airport getting ready to take off, so we spoke to Dec and he told us the game plan to be fair.
“He didn’t tell us but he was like ‘we are not going to play, we are not playing like we normally play’. That’s what he said to us, ‘it’s going to be slightly different’. We said ‘in what way?’ And he said ‘It ain’t the same Arsenal team’."
Antonio then lauded the Gunners and manager Mikel Arteta for their tactics against Manchester City, saying:
“Then when I saw it I applauded. At the end of the day football is entertainment but it’s also a job. And they did their job. That is what made me respect Arteta even more. Do you know who else used to do that and win leagues? Mourinho.”
The Gunners remained unbeaten against Manchester City in three meetings this season. They beat them on penalties in the FA Community Shield before winning 1-0 at home in the Premier League.
Arsenal, Manchester City & Liverpool record wins to continue their title challenge
The Premier League title race appears set to go down to the wire with the three clubs refusing to budge. The top three are separated by just three points, with Liverpool at the top, Arsenal two points behind and City three points off the Reds. They continued their prowess on Matchweek 30 as well, as all three sides recorded wins.
Arsenal beat relegation-battling Luton Town 2-0 at home on Wednesday, April 3. Manchester City beat fourth-placed Aston Villa 4-1 at home later that day. Liverpool then retained their position at the top of the table by beating bottom-placed Sheffield United 2-1 at home on Thursday.
Next up, the Gunners will face Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Saturday. The Cityzens will face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday as well. Meanwhile, Liverpool will face rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
