Mikel Arteta has rejected criticism that Arsenal played with the handbrake on in Sunday’s draw against Manchester City and insisted that he has been surprised by the negative reaction to their approach. While the Arsenal manager insisted he had not heard their criticism, Arteta was adamant that his team put in a positive performance against City despite slipping five points behind early leaders Liverpool. “I would be extremely surprised with my knowledge and my know-how and how I analyse a football game,” he said. “Maybe something to look at more in-depth, and we absolutely did that,” said Arteta of the number of injuries Arsenal have suffered in the past 12 months. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter.