This weekend’s crucial game in the title race may be billed as Manchester City versus Arsenal, but for some, the off-field battle between managers Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta could almost be as fascinating to watch.
While referee Anthony Taylor tries to keep order on the pitch, fourth official Paul Tierney will have a similarly intense task of attempting to manage the technical areas.
In the sky-blue corner, Guardiola will doubtless be as moody and intense as ever on his home patch. In the red, Arteta will likely be less ebullient than at the Emirates — and may even spend most of the match inside his technical area for a change — but will still be on edge throughout, depending on the scoreline.
Both are hard work and do not seem to have a problem with their players putting pressure on the officials at every turn. In my last encounter with Guardiola, he received a yellow card for going ballistic at the fourth official when I did not fall for Erling Haaland’s decision to collapse in a heap when clean through on goal.
“Why would he go down?” Pep asked me. Good question, but you would be better addressing it to Haaland than me.
My first 11 Arsenal matches after Arteta rejoined the club as manager were played behind closed doors because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Only when the crowds returned did he transform into the animated livewire we are used to seeing, which rather suggests many of the antics are for the benefit of the crowd and the cameras.
As a referee, Taylor is used to overseeing crunch contests on the biggest stage, and will approach this match in precisely the same way as he has done for all his other 425 Premier League games.
It’s one of his biggest strengths: all matches are afforded the same importance, whether it be an FA Cup fourth-round tie at Port Vale or a World Cup play-off between Poland and Albania, both of which have featured among his recent appointments. Every game, manager and player are treated with equal respect, which should be a given for all referees but is not universally the case.
Referees’ performances on such occasions are judged principally on the big decisions, whether that be red cards, penalties or allowing a goal to stand.
Taylor does not shirk the big calls, but based on the evidence to date this season, would rather reach for a yellow card than a red if he is in any doubt, especially early on.
For example, half an hour into the Chelsea vs Arsenal game in November, the video assistant referee (VAR) intervened correctly to recommend Moises Caicedo be sent off. After 10 minutes of the Manchester derby at Old Trafford in January, Diogo Dalot escaped dismissal for a tackle on Jeremy Doku that divided opinion but could have prompted a harsher sanction.
Two points are worth noting. Each of those on-field decisions happened to disadvantage the two teams on Sunday, which is handy given the modern propensity for conspiracy theories and perceived bias. And surely this approach is what most people in the game prefer; only the team to benefit would want to see Sunday’s game decided by a marginal decision that puts one of the sides down to 10.
Apart from keeping a lid on everyone’s emotions — in part by keeping control of his own — Taylor’s two biggest challenges will be managing set plays and dealing with the teams’ contrasting approaches to the tempo of the game.
Anthony Taylor books Gabriel during a game against Manchester City in 2023 (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Both sides place great emphasis on set pieces and should be aware that Taylor is more likely than most to penalise holding and grappling. He awarded two penalties in a single game early in the season, and since then, players have generally been well-behaved in his matches. Maybe he’s onto something.
All the Premier League refs were recently given a pep talk — not by that Pep, obviously — on regaining control of set plays, with a particular emphasis on penalising players who hold opponents while having their backs to the ball.
Early on, I predict we’ll see Taylor trying the proactive approach of offering advice to players as they line up, and anyone who ignores him will be taking an undue risk.
Tempo and time management will become a major issue if the home side are not winning, given Arsenal would presumably settle for a draw. City typically want the ball in play as much as possible, and in this and other recent seasons have consistently topped the charts in relation to the amount of actual playing time.
Their players and coaches will take turns to demand Taylor and Tierney stop the clock every time a visiting player hits the deck, meanders over to take a corner, or polishes the ball before launching a throw-in. Of course, Arsenal will demand more urgency if City go ahead.
Having served as Taylor’s fourth official many times, I can tell both teams they are wasting their time — to coin a phrase – focusing on the clock rather than the game, as he is never swayed by such nonsense.
Tierney will keep a log of allowable stoppages, as will the VAR officials at Stockley Park, and that’s what will be added, whatever the protests.
Meanwhile, Tierney will have his hands full trying to control the technical areas, which are more heavily populated these days than the field of play.
His phlegmatic, no-nonsense demeanour should be highly effective, and Taylor will back him unconditionally if the cards need to come out.
Again, Taylor prefers a proactive approach. In the recent Tyne-Wear derby, he trotted over to the technical area within five minutes of kick-off after spotting Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall and his opposite number Michael Proctor double-teaming the fourth official. After a few words of warning, the benches caused him no trouble thereafter.
On Sunday, at least one unfortunate camera operator will miss the entire match because they will be charged with tracking every emotional outburst in the technical areas, in anticipation that it might all kick off between Guardiola and his former apprentice.
The battle between Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta will be one key element on Sunday (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
In this case, there is so much personal respect between Guardiola and Arteta that it is unlikely they will fall out in front of the cameras. However, their backroom teams will be expected to appeal vehemently for every throw, protest every free kick awarded the other way, and create the impression that the referee owes them something, anything.
After a decade on the list, Tierney is hardened to all the confected rage and sarcastic leading questions. “Is their No 99 allowed to elbow our player in the face?” “Err, no, but that’s not just what happened, is it?”
There is a footballing cliche that people in the game just want the referee to get their decisions ‘right’, yet the participants spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to scramble the officials’ brains so they are, in fact, more likely to make mistakes.
Manchester City players surround Anthony Taylor during a game in 2023 (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
All those seminars and workshops about marginal gains have not yet extended to the refs. It still appears the official policy of most clubs is to berate and insult anyone carrying a whistle, flag or substitution board, and then to deflect blame onto them if the result goes the wrong way.
This ‘strategy’ appears to be something Michael Carrick has adopted, judging by his recent actions. Few managers have tried getting to know the officials as the human beings they are, and to win them over with charm and persuasion. It might just be worth a try.
In any event, Tierney may be more concerned about being called into action if an on-field official is incapacitated on Sunday, given that he is refereeing at Brentford the previous lunchtime. It seems an undue risk, given the importance of this fixture, but it’s common practice and Taylor’s fitness record is exemplary, so fingers crossed…
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