Stones to the rescue as Man City deny 10-man Arsenal in injury-time
The most pivotal fixture in present-day English football requires its most decisive players to step up, and who better than Erling Haaland to break the deadlock inside 10 minutes. Savinho showed great poise and control to come inside and slide it through to the Norwegian, who had the pace to beat Gabriel Magalhães and slide ingeniously inside David Raya’s near post.
That was Haaland’s landmark 100th goal for the club, and it was nearly added to moments later as İlkay Gündoğan struck the near post with a clipped free-kick.
Having seized control of proceedings, things began to go downhill for the hosts following an injury to crucial midfielder Rodri, with whom they are unbeaten in the Premier League since February 2023.
Following his substitution, Arsenal almost immediately hit back as Gabriel Martinelli laid it back to Riccardo Calafiori, who marked his first start for the club with a stunning left-foot curler which drifted away from Ederson’s reach.
The visitors looked extremely dangerous from there, and they eventually took the lead when Gabriel stormed past Kyle Walker to meet and nod in Bukayo Saka’s deep corner from point-blank range.
However, Arsenal’s spirits were dampened significantly on the stroke of half-time when Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away. That sent City on the rampage following the restart, and they utterly dominated possession while peppering Raya’s goal with attempts.
The Spaniard was on top form to get down and stop Haaland’s towering close-range header, before getting well behind a powerful Joško Gvardiol strike.
Another effort from the Croatian was palmed away from the near post by Raya, but it was ultimately in vain as Stones pounced on the rebound from a Mateo Kovačić shot and salvaged a draw in dramatic circumstances at the death.
Pep Guardiola would certainly have hoped for more considering his side had a man advantage for the entirety of the second half, but they nevertheless stayed in top spot and kept hold of their lengthy home run without defeat. Arsenal will have to put their bitter disappointment at letting the lead slip behind them, with 33 matches still remaining to attempt to overthrow City’s four-year grip on the title.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal)
