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, then Gabriel scored from a set piece again to put the visitors in front. Leandro Trossard was 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.
John Stones sends Man City back to the top of the table 🔝#MCIARS pic.twitter.com/XY8DbUAVDD
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 22, 2024
Until recently, the rivalry between City and Arsenal has been somewhat tepid. Perhaps because of the friendship between managers Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, his former City assistant, there has always been more mutual respect than enmity.
There were plenty of signs in this game that the calm atmosphere may be changing.
Within 14 seconds of the opening kick-off, the visitors’ Kai Havertz made a statement of intent, barging City midfielder 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 for a fourth time in a row last season, with Arsenal again having to settle for runners-up status for a second straight year, Rodri claimed the difference between the teams was “mentality” — comments that did not go unnoticed in north London.
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 sent off.
After a game full of needle, the trend is likely to continue when the sides meet again in February’s reverse fixture.
The tussle at the top of the Premier League is hotting up.
James McNicholas
Calafiori’s brilliant strike brought Arsenal level in the 22nd minute but sparked protests from City players. Here’s a breakdown of what happened…
The foul concerned, by Ilkay Gundogan on Thomas Partey, is committed around 10 yards shy of the centre circle.
Referee Michael Oliver calls Walker, the City captain, over from his position at right-back to speak to him and Bukayo Saka, the Arsenal skipper. While this is happening, Declan Rice and Partey have moved the ball forward to much nearer the centre circle.
Oliver blows his whistle to allow Partey to restart play with the free kick — 10 yards nearer the City goal than the point where the foul took place.
Walker has also not yet got back into position at right-back and he and his team-mates are gesturing that they are not ready. Meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli is in acres of space out 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 pass, then tees up Calafiori to shoot 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 dugout.
Charlie Scott
The Belgian international had already been 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.
Oliver blew his whistle for the foul 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 by that point, but Oliver 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 here — 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 versus 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 that Brighton game where Rice got sent off, the visitors’ Joao Pedro had earlier escaped punishment for a clear instance of delaying the restart.
Today at the Etihad, City’s Jeremy Doku appeared to deliberately knock the ball beyond Rice earlier in the first half, yet was not shown a yellow card.
James McNicholas
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 Trossard’s dismissal, there was obviously a strong correlation between Rodri going off injured after 21 minutes and City not playing as well as they were with him on the pitch/Arsenal getting better following his departure. 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 early on and looked irresistible when Haaland scored, but they looked a lot less sure of themselves after Rodri went off, and with Arsenal’s quality and threat, it is just as easy to conclude they deserve some credit for how they responded to going a goal down in enemy territory, while noting that, of course, having Rodri on the pitch for the whole match would have been a help to City overall.
Sam Lee
Arsenal’s set pieces have reached unstoppable levels. Gabriel’s header to put them 2-1 up made it 31 Premier League goals they’ve scored from corners since the start of the 2022-23 season. In second place for that metric are Liverpool, with 24. Nobody can match Arteta’s side.
The targets and the deliveries don’t change — Arsenal almost exclusively play inswingers from both sides of the pitch, with Gabriel’s bonce the primary target. A notable tweak against City today, 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 before the goal: initially, Doku was the blocker on Gabriel, they were the only two players out around the penalty spot, and when he ran onto that corner and headed over, Guardiola quickly made a tweak. Walker took responsibility the second time, another corner from the right, but he too lost track of the Brazilian centre-back.
The move was the same, just like Arsenal’s winner in the north London derby last Sunday: a Saka inswinger from the right, Gabriel header in the six-yard box. It was only the eighth goal City have conceded from a corner since the start of the 2022-23 season.
Whereas most teams defend against Arsenal with a mix of zonal markers (their better aerial players) and blockers (smaller guys), City’s approach was almost completely zonal, apart from whoever was on Gabriel.
Teams are increasingly going to more extreme set-piece defensive schemes against Arsenal, but they keep finding solutions.
Liam Tharme
Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports after the match: “A lot of things happened in the game, we have time to analyse it after. We have created a good rivalry with Arsenal. It was before with Jurgen (Klopp), now it’s in a different way.
“They have a lot of personality, but we have it. Ninety-nine points to play for. That’s life. We equalised, we deserved it.
“They are the biggest contender in the last two years. They are exceptional and we know it. They are able to do many, many good things.”
Speaking after the match, Arteta, when asked about Trossard’s red card, said: “I prefer not to comment. I’ve seen it and it’s that obvious, so I’ll leave it to you guys. I was already in big trouble trying to solve what happened on the pitch. It’s not my problem to solve what happens off the pitch.
When the instance of the ball being kicked away by Doku was mentioned, Arteta said: “That’s what I’m saying. It’s that obvious that it’s not necessary to comment on it. It’s the second time. I’m expecting 100 Premier League games to be 10 against 11 or nine vs 10 this season. Let’s see.”
GO DEEPER
Arteta expects '100 games' with red cards after Trossard's sending off
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
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
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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