Pep Guardiola said he was made to "suffer" in Manchester City's 1-1 draw with Arsenal but he praised his team's resilience and said their body language and communication is getting back to the standards he expects.
Guardiola's team had just 32.8% of possession against Arsenal but they very nearly snatched all three points at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Erling Haaland scored on the counter-attack after nine minutes and it needed a 93rd minute equaliser from Arsenal substitute Gabriel Martinelli to split the points.
When it was put to Guardiola that his team's possession was the lowest they'd ever managed under him, he joked: "I cannot live in this country with another record you know that, so I'm so proud of that.
"I give a lot of credit to Arsenal for what they have done. Okay, one time in 10 years is not bad, right?" He smiled as he finished answering the question by saying: "I have to prove myself again [in] another strategy. Now I'm a transition team, you know that."
He was full of praise for his team post-match, after a brutal week where they faced Manchester United last Sunday, then Napoli on Thursday and Arsenal on Sunday.
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"We just need to go step by step to try and get points," he said.
He also highlighted how they had several new signings in the team. He said new first-choice goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is still adjusting to City's style of play and the fluency of his passing and finding teammates will improve while others will also become better accustomed with time.
Overall, though, Guardiola was pleased with the point. "In general, who controlled the game was Arsenal," Guardiola said. "It was not us. And that's why when this happened, 1-1? I take it."
Guardiola did say though that it was a painful experience watching his team repel attack after attack from Arsenal. "I suffer. I don't like it. I want the ball away, away -- I want it to be close to [David] Raya's goal, not Gigi [Donnarumma's]."
He also made a point of emphasising how impressed he's been with his team's body language and communication. "We have to accept [the result] but things will improve.
"I have said many times about the [focus being on] the body language, how we celebrate, how we are communicating, how we are making an effort for each other.
"We lost it a lot last season. And I said this season I don't give a 'bleep' about the results. I wanna see the spirit back in the training sessions."