Arsenal lost 2-1 to Manchester City (Image: Getty)
Arsenal lost to Manchester City, leaving the Premier League title race in limbo. Josep Guardiola’s side could go top of the table when they face Burnley at Turf Moor in midweek. Rayan Cherki opened the scoring for City with some great footwork. Nevertheless, shortly afterwards, a mistake by Gianluigi Donnarumma created a chance for Kai Havertz to dart out and equalize.
They created many chances through Kai Havertz’s breakthrough and Eberechi Eze’s shot, but it was Erling Haaland who scored the winning goal. Gabriel was lucky to avoid a red card after colliding with the Norwegian. Express Sport assesses and predicts the Gunners following the disappointing defeat…
Arsenal vs Man City player ratings
David Raya – 5
The Spanish goalkeeper had moments of uncertainty early on as he almost surrendered the ball to Haaland. Both goals left him well beaten and there was little he could do about it.
His header from an early corner kick went wide, but he was carded in the first half for repeated fouls as he struggled to control Doc. However, he performed very well as a right-back.
He was lucky to have seen the referee blow his whistle, but otherwise the Frenchman would have produced a crucial goal-line clearance. Overall he had a solid game.
Rayan Cherki produced a vital block to prevent the home side from giving the lead, hitting the post against the lead. City lost their second aerial duel with Haaland of the afternoon. In the end, I was lucky to escape without getting a red card.
He made a great block on Antoine Semenyo to deny him a close-range chance. He worked tirelessly throughout and succeeded admirably in containing Semenyo.
It was undoubtedly one of the Spaniard’s strongest performances, and it was exactly what was needed on the grandest of occasions.
Despite being the driving force in midfield, he struggled to control the ball enough in the most important moments.
Arsenal players react to disappointing defeat (Image: Getty)
With his return to the starting line-up, it can be said that City’s four-man ‘press’ was handled fairly well as the Gunners captain was able to drop deep, collect the ball and move forward. They made two passes in two important chances, but the overall impression was that they were still not able to have the desired impact on the game.
He took several powerful shots from the right flank, but was unable to break through and was sent off by Arteta at half-time.
The press proved beneficial for Havertz, who kicked an attempted clearance by Donnarumma with his foot and watched the ball bounce into the net. He played behind Odegaard, but his shot was saved by Donnarumma, setting him up for a one-on-one foot race with Bernardo Silva. He headed in a late chance that could have given him another point.
Unfortunately, we missed out on the opening goal, and Cherki forfeited the challenge at the cost of breaking through and scoring. He came close to scoring the Gunners’ second goal, pivoting with his left foot and hitting the post with one. The choice to substitute him rather than Odegaard puzzled many.
substitute
Gabriel Martinelli – 5
He replaced Maduke at half-time and immediately made the mistake of giving the ball away in the middle, creating a chance for Haaland, who then hit the post from the ensuing corner kick.
There was minimal to no impact on the match.
Coming on as a substitute and supplying Havertz with a late cross could have secured Arsenal the result they desperately needed.
He was brought on late in the game, but had little impact on the result.
