City took the lead in un-Pep Guardiola-like fashion as Tijjani Reijnders sped away on the counter attack, before feeding the onrushing Haaland to slot past David Raya in the ninth minute. The visitors seemed content to soak up pressure, stay compact and then try to hurt the Gunners on the transition, which was working, on the whole.
Noni Madueke and Leandro Trossard went close for the hosts but City’s defence and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma dealt with everything that came their way. That was, until substitute Martinelli’s moment of brilliance in the 93rd minute to ensure the points were shared.
BALLGM rates Manchester City‘s players from the Emirates…
City took the lead in un-Pep Guardiola-like fashion as Tijjani Reijnders sped away on the counter attack, before feeding the onrushing Haaland to slot past David Raya in the ninth minute. The visitors seemed content to soak up pressure, stay compact and then try to hurt the Gunners on the transition, which was working, on the whole.
Noni Madueke and Leandro Trossard went close for the hosts but City’s defence and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma dealt with everything that came their way. That was, until substitute Martinelli’s moment of brilliance in the 93rd minute to ensure the points were shared.
BALLGM rates Manchester City’s players from the Emirates…
Gianluigi Donnarumma (7/10):
The former Paris Saint-Germain ace proved he is not an easy nut to crack with some strong saves from powerful strikes. Nothing he could do about the equaliser, though.
Abdukodir Khusanov (6/10):
Got into some good tussles with Leandro Trossard but picked up a knock or two and did not return for the second half.
Ruben Dias (7/10):
The Portugal international was back to somewhere not far off his reassuring best for City. Won a lot of headers and didn’t look like making a mistake.
Josko Gvardiol (7/10):
Harried and hassled Viktor Gyokeres and never really gave the former Sporting CP striker much of a sniff in attack. But he was, arguably, at fault for Arsenal‘s goal due to his high line.
Nico O’Reilly (7/10):
Was calm and composed when facing off against Noni Madueke at left back. Bukayo Saka didn’t get much of a tune out of him, either.
Rodri (7/10):
City’s midfield looks so much more secure with him in it, which is not surprising since he is the current Ballon d’Or holder.
Tijjani Reijnders (7/10):
Despite Gary Neville thinking he had held on to the ball for too long, the Dutchman timed his assist to perfection. His bursts of pace into Arsenal’s half caused them problems.
Bernardo Silva (7/10):
The wily Portuguese seemed to repeatedly make the right decisions at the right time. He covered a lot of the ground, both in attack and defence, and did a job out wide and in the centre of the park.
Jeremy Doku (8/10):
The Belgian livewire is showing signs of more substance to his style, with his quick feet and acceleration giving Arsenal a headache or two. Drove out from defence to ease the pressure on his side, too.
Erling Haaland (8/10):
Two superb touches. One to set himself and the second to stroke the ball into the corner for City’s opener. Showed Gabriel Magalhaes a clean pair of heels, too. Could have added a second but a very good outing overall.
Phil Foden (5/10):
This is a player who is quite different from the one from two years ago. Things aren’t falling for him as easily, and he is creating less magic, so as a result, he appears to be putting in more work off the ball to make up for it.
Matheus Nunes (6/10):
Came on at the break for the injured Khusanov, and while he was full of running, the Portuguese repeatedly lost his footing.
Nathan Ake (5/10):
Was brought on to add more solidity as City moved to a back five when he came on, but allowed Martinelli to get away from him at the end.
Nico Gonzalez (5/10):
The midfielder replaced Haaland but offered far less than the Norwegian international.
John Stones (6/10):
Didn’t do a great deal when introduced.
Savinho (7/10):
Helped see the game out with some good hold-up play.
Pep Guardiola (7/10):
City have been all too open and easy to beat in the league this season. But the way they maintained their defensive shape, for most of the game, showed that they can learn from their mistakes. Was he too defensive? Maybe. Should he have subbed Haaland? Probably not considering he could have killed the game off. But City do look better at the back.
