In a controversial and action-packed Premier League classic at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City equalised deep in stoppage time to deny Arsenal a famous win — but that hardly tells the full story of the match.
The game was packed with needle between the two title rivals and was finished off with a John Stones goal in the 98th minute.
Erling Haaland got his 100th goal for City before a quick free kick (more on that below) from Arsenal led to a Riccardo Calafiori equaliser and Gabriel scored from a set piece again for Arsenal. Leandro Trossard was then sent off for a second yellow card, for kicking the ball away, just before half-time.
With a man advantage, City dominated the second half but found goalkeeper David Raya (who made an incredible double save in the midweek Champions League game against Atalanta) in inspired form before substitute Stones broke Arsenal hearts.
Here, Sam Lee, James McNicholas, Charlie Scott and Liam Tharme break down the action.
Is this now a proper rivalry?
Until recently, the rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester City has been somewhat tepid. Perhaps because of the friendship between the two managers, there has always been more mutual respect than enmity.
There were signs in this game that may be changing. Within 14 seconds, Kai Havertz made a statement of intent, barging Rodri to the ground. If there has been a focus of Arsenal’s ire, it has been the Spanish international. When City won the league last season, he claimed the difference between the two teams was “mentality” — comments that did not go unnoticed at London Colney.
Rodri went off injured early on (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
The touchline reactions of Guardiola and Arteta also showed how desperate the two former colleagues are to come out on top.
When Calafiori curled home Arsenal’s equaliser, Guardiola stormed back to his dugout and kicked his own chair. Arteta was similarly enraged when Trossard was dismissed.
After a game full of needle, the trend is likely to continue. The tussle at the top of the Premier League is hotting up.
James McNicholas
Why Walker and Guardiola were fuming about Arsenal’s equaliser
Calafiori’s brilliant strike brought Arsenal level in the 22nd minute but sparked protests from the City players. Here’s a breakdown of what happened…
The foul by Ilkay Gundogan on Thomas Partey takes place 10 yards shy of the centre circle…
The referee calls Walker, the City captain, over from his position at right-back to speak to him and Bukayo Saka, the Arsenal captain. While this is happening Declan Rice and Partey have moved the ball forward to near the centre circle.
The referee blows his whistle to allow Thomas Partey, the Arsenal midfielder, to restart play with the free-kick — 10 yards towards the City goal from where the foul took place.
Walker has not got back into position and he and his City team-mates are gesturing that they are not ready. Meanwhile, Martinelli is in acres of space on Arsenal’s left, the space Walker should be defending.
Partey sprays the ball over the head of Walker to Martinelli…
The Brazilian controls the ball and then tees up Calafiori to curl past Ederson from just outside the penalty area…
The City players and coaching staff were fuming. Walker confronted Oliver…
And Guardiola booted his chair in the City dugout…
Charlie Scott
Was Trossard sending off harsh?
Three weeks after Arsenal had Declan Rice sent off against Brighton for delaying the restart, Leandro Trossard suffered the same fate at the Etihad.
The Belgian international was first booked for tugging back Savinho — a professional foul that saw Arsenal offer no complaints.
Then, in the final moments of the first half, he barged into Bernardo Silva…
The referee blew his whistle, and Trossard then booted the ball up into the air…
He may argue he assumed the whistle marked the end of the half, as the indicated stoppage time had elapsed. The referee saw it otherwise, producing a second yellow card and sending Trossard off for delaying the restart.
The directive to reduce gamesmanship and time-wasting is admirable, but a sending off does feel like unduly harsh punishment — especially when it has such an enormous impact on the quality of the game as a spectacle. The second half became an absurd training exercise of defence vs. Attack.
Equally, Arsenal’s players know all too well that referees are hot on this issue. Trossard should have thought twice before kicking the ball away.
Arsenal’s biggest frustration, however, will be a lack of consistency. In the Brighton game, Joao Pedro escaped punishment for a clear instance of delaying the restart.
At the Etihad, Jeremy Doku appeared to deliberately knock the ball beyond Declan Rice during the first half, yet was not shown a yellow card…
James McNicholas
How big was an issue was loss of Rodri?
Let’s talk largely about the first half here, because after the red card the game became slightly less about Rodri, apart from his proven quality at hitting long shots, which is an obvious point to make considering how many opportunities City had to shoot from range (and little else).
So before the red card, there was obviously a strong correlation between Rodri going off and City not playing as well as they were with him on the pitch/Arsenal getting better.
There is a strong correlation but it is impossible to infer causation because you would never have expected any top team, especially Arsenal, to not start to change the rhythm.
City had dominated and early on and looked irresistible when Haaland scored, and they looked a lot less sure of themselves after Rodri went off, but with Arsenal’s quality and threat, it is just as easy to conclude that they deserve some credit for how they responded to going a goal down, while noting that, of course, having Rodri on the pitch would have been a help to City overall.
Sam Lee
Why couldn’t City deal with Arsenal’s set pieces?
Arsenal’s set pieces have reached unstoppable levels. Gabriel’s header made it 31 Premier League goals from corners since the start of 2022-23. Second-place are Liverpool, with 24. Nobody can match Mikel Arteta’s side.
The targets and the deliveries don’t change — Arsenal almost exclusively play inswingers from both sides, with Gabriel the primary target. A notable tweak against City, similar to their approach to corners against Atalanta in the Champions League in midweek, was overloading the back-post and flooding the six yard-box to pressure the goalkeeper.
City had their warning: initially Jeremy Doku was the blocker on Gabriel, the only two out around the penalty spot, and when he ran onto the first corner and headed over, Guardiola quickly made a tweak. Kyle Walker took responsibility the second time, another corner from the right, but he too lost track of Gabriel.
(Michael Regan/Getty Images)
The move was the same, just like the winner in the North London derby last Sunday: a Bukayo Saka inswinger from the right, Gabriel header in the six yard-box. That’s only the eighth corner goal City have conceded since the start of 2022-23.
Whereas most teams defend against Arsenal with a mix of zonal markers (the better aerial players) and blockers (smaller players), City’s approach was almost completely zonal, but for the marker on Gabriel. Teams are increasingly going to more extreme set-piece defensive schemes against Arsenal, but they keep finding solutions.
Liam Tharme
What did Pep Guardiola say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What did Mikel Arteta say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Manchester City?
Tuesday, September 24: Watford (H), Carabao Cup, 7.45pm BST, 2.45pm ET
Saturday, September 28: Newcastle United (A), Premier League, 12.30pm BST, 7.30am ET
What next for Arsenal?
Wednesday, September 25: Bolton Wanderers (H), Carabao Cup, 7.45pm BST, 2.45pm ET
Saturday, September 28: Leicester City (H), Premier League, 3pm BST, 10am ET
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(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
