Manchester City 1 Arsenal 1: Pep Guardiola’s side pick up a point at the Emirates | OneFootball

Manchester City 1 (Erling Haaland 9′)

Arsenal 1 (Gabriel Martinelli 90+2)

Manchester City have drawn 1-all with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium today. The game was a tense affair with Arsenal dominating possession and Pep Guardiola’s side defending resolutely. Erling Haaland gave City an early lead in the 9th minute. City would lead until the 92nd minute when Gabriel Martinelli equalised for Arsenal. It wasn’t a typical City performance by any stretch but they showed another side to their game as they frustrated Arsenal for large sections of the match.

Ahead of kickoff, Pep Guardiola named an unchanged starting eleven for the third successive match. Rodri was declared fit to play, and John Stones returned to the bench for Manchester City after missing City’s past two matches. A trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal was a good early test for Pep Guardiola’s new-look side. They’d have to be at their best to leave London with all three points.

First half

The game kicked off bathed in sunshine before a buoyant Arsenal home crowd. Manchester City’s travelling support was in fine voice as the game kicked off.

Arsenal were the dominant team in possession to begin the match. Mikel Arteta’s side looked comfortable on the ball, and there was a crispness to their build-up play. Manchester City had a good shape defensively, and two challenges from Abdukodir Khusanov in the game’s opening five minutes stood out.

ERLING HAALAND GIVES MANCHESTER CITY AN EARLY LEAD!!!!

Despite Arsenal’s strong start in possession, it would be Manchester City who would take the lead in the 9th minute. Pep Guardiola’s side won possession in their own half and looked to hit Arsenal on the counter. Tijjani Reijnders made a driving run at the heart of the Arsenal defence, after Haaland played him the ball in midfield, and he had a freight train in Haaland steaming at the Arsenal defence to his right. Reijnders slipped in a simple ball to Haaland, who beat David Raya in the Arsenal goal with a clever right-footed finish to give Pep Guardiola’s side the lead. What was striking about the goal was how much space was left in behind by Arsenal, which Tijjani Reijnders and Erling Haaland took full advantage of.

Tijjani Reijnders would hit a shot straight at David Raya in the 20th minute. Manchester City pressed Arsenal into error on the edge of their own error while they tried to play out from the back. The ball was worked to Reijnders, who hit his shot straight at Raya in the Arsenal goal. It was a good chance from which perhaps Reijnders should’ve done better.

Following Tijjani Reijnders’ shot, Arsenal had a string of corners and more possession. But they failed to create a chance of note up to the 30th minute. Manchester City defended strongly, and Mikel Arteta’s side hadn’t had a shot as the game rolled past the half-hour mark. Noni Madueke, on the right, looked to be Arsenal’s most dangerous attacking outlet in the game.

Pep Guardiola’s side were frustrating Arsenal as the game wore on.

As the first half went past the 40-minute mark, Arsenal began to show small signs of life in the final third. However, their only two chances came from Noni Madueke, who failed to force Gianluigi Donnarumma into action. In the 36th minute, Jeremy Doku had the opportunity to drive at the Arsenal defence. He set up Rodri on the edge of the Arsenal, who fired a left-footed strike high and wide.

Riccardo Calafiori fired a volley over the bar in the 44th minute. Noni Madueke played in a teasing cross from the right wing, which was punched clear by Gianluigi Donnarumma. The rebound fell to Calafiori on the edge of the City area, who fired his left-footed volley over the crossbar.

Gianluigi Donnarumma would make his first save of the afternoon in the first minute of second-half stoppage time. Noni Madueke fired in a strike with his right foot from the right-hand side of the City penalty area. Donnarumma made a strong save at his near post to preserve Manchester City’s lead.

Manchester City would take a 1-nil lead into halftime. Pep Guardiola’s side had defended stoutly and were well-organised while Arsenal had possession. They’d kept the Gunners attack quiet, and based on their defensive performances, they deserved their lead. Credit must go to Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico O’Reilly in the full-back positions. Khusanov defended well, and his pace was a valuable asset throughout the first half. Nico O’Reilly was being troubled by Noni Madueke, but was going about his defensive work well.

Second half

Arsenal made two substitutions at halftime. Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka came on for Mikel Merino and Noni Madueke. Mikel Arteta was going for it based on substitutions. Manchester City would need to be switched on defensively as they were in the first half to maintain their lead. Worryingly for City, Matheus Nunes replaced Abdukodir Khusanov at right-back. Khusanov had his foot trodden on to begin the game, and the hope was that he hadn’t sustained a serious injury.

Martin Zubimendi would fire a good chance over the bar in the 48th minute. A poor clearance from Tijjani Reijnders fell to the Spanish midfielder, who blasted his volley over the crossbar. Arsenal had shown their attacking intent inside the opening five minutes of the second half.

Two minutes later, Gianluigi Donnarumma would deny Eberechi Eze with a good save. Martin Zubimendi made a driving run at the City defence through midfield. He played the ball out to Leandro Trossard, whose cross was cleared by the Manchester City defence. But the clearance fell to Eze, who hit a fierce volley from inside the penalty area which Donnarumma punched away.

David Raya would deny Erling Haaland in the 57th minute. Manchester City broke quickly through Jeremy Doku after an Arsenal corner. Doku picked out Haaland with a clever through ball that set Haaland clean through on goal. Haaland had Foden to his right but chose to fire a shot on goal. David Raya made a comfortable save down to his right to keep the score at 1-nil.

The game entered the final 20 minutes with all to play for.

As the game entered the 70th minute, it had become a tense affair. Arsenal were continuing to dominate possession and create half-chances. Pep Guardiola’s side defended resolutely as the game entered the final twenty minutes.

There were no real chances of note between the 70th and 80th minutes. Manchester City were defending well, and Arsenal were probing away when going forward. But Mikel Arteta’s side couldn’t create any chances of substance. Jeremy Doku got into the Arsenal area in the 81st minute and played a teasing ball across the Arsenal penalty area with his left foot. But there were no City players on hand for a tap-in.

Gabriel Martinelli equalises for Arsenal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.

Gabriel Martinelli would equalise for Arsenal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time. Eberechi Eze played a quality ball over the top of the City defence. Martinelli timed his run to perfection and beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a quality chip. The goal was tough on Pep Guardiola’s side and came after Nico lost possession in the Arsenal half.

After Gabriel Martinelli’s goal, there would be no more incidents of note. The game would finish 1-all after a tense 90 minutes at the Emirates Stadium.

First thoughts after the final whistle.

If you’d offered Manchester City a point before kickoff, considering they played Napoli on Thursday evening, they’d have taken it. But after defending so resolutely after taking a ninth-minute lead, City will be disappointed to concede a late equaliser. What stood out was the defensive organisation from Pep Guardiola’s side. They frustrated Arsenal and showed that they are growing as a unit. Manchester City have won two games and drawn one from their tough run of fixtures against Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal. That does represent progress after a tough week for Manchester City.