Manchester City, manhandled for an hour by Arsenal, won a victory in extremis on the lawn of the Gunners (1-2), Saturday during the 21st day of the English championship, which allows him to take off at the top of the standings .
Pep Guardiola’s men are eleven points ahead of Chelsea, which receives Sunday Liverpool (3rd with 12 points behind and another game to play), in the shock of this day. Reds coach Jürgen Klopp will be deprived of the bench due to a “suspected positive test” for Covid-19. His Arsenal counterpart, Mikel Arteta, was also absent from the Emirates Stadium on Saturday due to a Covid infection.
His players delivered one of their most successful halves since the start of the season before the break and held on to ten against eleven for more than half an hour after the expulsion of Gabriel (59th) for a second warning, before losing to a goal from Rodri in added time (93rd).
Man City snatch victory in the final moments thanks to Rodri’s late finish#ARSMCI pic.twitter.com/hcjqf64i7B
– Premier League (@premierleague) January 1, 2022
They remain fourth in the standings, but are under threat from West Ham, Manchester United and Tottenham. The Hammers and Spurs move later in the afternoon to the lawns of Crystal Palace (6.30 p.m.) and Watford (4.00 p.m.) respectively.
The Gunners have at times made Guardiola’s players dizzy, playing high despite significantly less ball possession, repeatedly managing to knock City off balance with quick triangle combinations, and responding present in engagement and aggression.
Holder since the beginning of December, the young Gabriel Martinelli (20) has greatly tormented the side Joao Cancelo, present on the lawn less than two days after being the victim of a violent burglary and blows to the face.
The Brazilian has been involved in most Arsenal occasions. He was at the origin of the first thrill, with Lacazette, then Odegaard, which forced Ederson to a hazardous exit (10th). It is again from his side that came the goal of Saka on a low strike, after a pass from Tierney (31st, 1-0). Martinelli missed the knockout twice before the break, on a strike a few centimeters from the skylight (39th), then on an overflow into the box which again caused difficulties for Cancelo (43rd).
Arsenal attacked the second half in a similar tone, but a twist of fate saw City return to the game. Referee Stuart Attwell awarded a penalty, transformed by Riyad Mahrez (57th, 1-1), after using video assistance (VAR), for a light pulling of Xhaka’s shirt on Bernardo Silva.
Did VAR get it right today? pic.twitter.com/c3eSMY6juE
– ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) January 1, 2022
The Gunners almost regained the advantage in the wake, on a disagreement between Ruben Dias and Ederson, and an intervention on his line of Aké. Probably the turning point, especially as Arsenal defender Gabriel was sent off on the next clearance for a second yellow card in less than a minute.
The leader of the standings regained control in the following minutes, but failed to worry Aaron Ramsdale.
With maximum success, while the Gunners sometimes gave the impression of being able to win despite their numerical inferiority, Rodri finally benefited from a bad clearance to score the winning goal (93rd, 1-2).