Four goals, a red card, a last-minute equaliser… The Manchester City-Arsenal clash lived up to expectations

The two favourites in the race for the title in England played out a 2-2 draw on Sunday after a series of twists and turns.

The Premier League has had its first major event of the season. The clash between the two best teams of the moment, Manchester City and Arsenal, was full of sparks. Each team led the score. The former quickly lost one of its key players to injury, Rodri. The latter kept his back hunched over the entire second half, huddled in his box, to maintain his tiny advantage until the 97th minute, when the Cityzens equalized through John Stones (2-2).

The Gunners narrowly missed out on a tasty revenge, having never managed to win at the Etihad Stadium since Pep Guardiola settled in the north of England (2016) and having finished second in the Premier League behind City in the previous two seasons. That was without counting on the determination of their opponents of the day, who were rewarded after their 28th shot in the second half and after displaying 88% possession of the ball in this second half.

Manchester City are not the reigning four-time English champions (and current leaders) for no reason. When Jeremy Doku and Savinho fail to find the net, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish come off the bench and the ball always ends up going into the box. If the attackers are not there to push it into the back of the net, a defender can very well do it, like the savior of the evening, John Stones, who came up for a corner and was attentive after a shot pushed off the line. He allows his team to extend its impressive unbeaten home run in all competitions, which has been running since November 12, 2022, or 50 matches.

Erling Haaland had started the match perfectly for City by opening the scoring in the 9th minute with a clever shot after a call in the middle. This ideal start in no way suggested such urgency at the end of the match. The merit of the Arsenal players was to perfectly exploit the rare opportunities they created for themselves. The Italian recruit Riccardo Calafiori equalized with a superb shot from outside the area (22nd), then Gabriel came to smash a corner from Bukayo Saka (45th), just before Leandro Trossard was sent off for a second yellow card (45th + 7).

While there was relief on the Cityzen side at the final whistle, the mood was not one of celebration either. Any result other than a victory is a form of failure for such a team when it plays on its home turf. Thus, both teams left the field partly frustrated. The intense defensive efforts only brought Arsenal one point, which remains two lengths behind its rival. The appointment is already set for the return match, in London, the weekend of February 1st.