Five Things Learned: Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City were stung by a late equaliser in a battling draw away to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola’s side arrived in London on good form, coming into the contest off the back of consecutive wins against Manchester United and Napoli in the Premier League and Champions League respectively, conceding no goals in either match.

Confidence showed from the get-go at the Emirates Stadium as Manchester City took an early lead via the in-form Erling Haaland, claiming his 13th goal this season for club and country after Tijjani Reijnders sent him through on a deadly counter-attack.

With Manchester City taking their slender lead into the half-time interval, the team were met with an onslaught of attacks from Arsenal, forcing Pep Guardiola to opt for a back five for the final half hour of the action.

Despite multiple crucial saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma and great defensive play overall, the Citizens did finally buckle in defence, with Gabriel Martinelli snatching an equaliser in added time following a ball over the top from Eberechi Eze.

Here are Five Things We Learned from Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal!

Erling Haaland is not stopping!

It feels somewhat of a cop out to speak about Erling Haaland for a second time this week, following our Five Things Learned from the Napoli game. However, when he keeps scoring in this electric and consistent form, how can we not talk about the big striker?

City’s No.9 added to his total with a really well-taken goal slotted past the despairing David Raya to break the deadlock. Haaland’s confidence is well and truly back, with nearly everything he touches turning to gold, and similar to that Midas Touch of the Treble season in 2022/23.

Having the Norwegian international in blistering form like this is exactly what manager Pep Guardiola needs if his side is to reclaim the Premier League title from current holders Liverpool.

A determined defensive display

Arsenal may be known for their rigid defensive style of play, but Manchester City well and truly gave the Gunners a taste of their own medicine on Sunday afternoon.

After an already strong defensive display for an hour, City switched to a back five for the final third of the match, doubling down on the decision to stand firm and protect the lead rather than add to it.

This is far from Pep Guardiola’s usual cavalier approach, which has been synonymous with the Citizens during the Catalan’s reign in Manchester to date. Arsenal did find their equaliser deep into added time, but City’s approach for the most part certainly deserves praise.

The team adapted to the situation and were extremely close to making it out of the Emirates Stadium unscathed, still managing to hold onto a point thanks to some great defensive showings.

Gianluigi Donnarumma: Imperious again

There were certainly plenty of eyebrows raised when Manchester City decided to move for Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain late on in the most-recent summer transfer window.

Having let Ederson move on to Turkey and Fenerbahce, as well as completing the signing of English young gun James Trafford from Burnley, some questioned if the Italian international was needed at the Etihad Stadium.

It is safe to say that the only eyebrows being raised in Donnarumma’s direction now are when the tall goalkeeper pulls off yet another save, with his form having been nothing short of game-changing, pulling off impressive stops and steadying the defence in front of him.

It was unlucky for the Italian to finally concede his first goal in Manchester City colours in the dying embers of Sunday’s match, but that should not take anything away from a fantastic performance prior to that last-minute sting.

Pep Guardiola’s backline has been improved tremendously with the acquisition of Gianluigi Donnarumma, and had it not been for him, I feel Manchester City would have been coming back from the capital with no points.

Consistency is key

It is not often that Pep Guardiola names an unchanged line-up, and it is even rarer that he does this for three matches consecutively. The Catalan coach clearly recognised, like most fans, that what he was seeing against Manchester United and Napoli was working, and well.

With the same starting line-up as the previous two games, Manchester City clicked right back into place and battled toward a third straight victory. Pep Guardiola’s hand has definitely been forced with both injuries and form, but regardless, it is refreshing to see some consistency.

Sadly, Manchester City did lose Abdukodir Khusanov to injury, and after some more changes, eventually did concede the equaliser, but their manager’s choice to stick with the same eleven was the right one.

This steadiness must also have a knock-on effect on the players, giving them the trust and, as a result, confidence to go back out onto the pitch and perform to their highest ability again.

Arsenal are becoming a bogey team

When preparing my notes for Sunday’s match, I was quite astounded to be reminded that Manchester City had not beaten Arsenal since early 2023. With two draws and two losses since that Treble win, the Gunners have become a recent bogey team for Pep Guardiola’s men.

This is definitely in part due to Mikel Arteta’s dogged defensive style and his team’s own building of confidence, talent and performances in recent seasons. They might not have a Premier League title to their name, but this current side is not to be scoffed at.

Despite breaching the Gunners’ backline early, City again missed out on an all-important win at the Emirates. Guardiola’s side has to start getting over bogey teams like Arsenal and Tottenham if they are to stand a chance at stopping Liverpool from claiming back-to-back Premier League titles.