Premier League: four goals, a red card, a last-minute equalizer… The Manchester City-Arsenal clash kept its promises

The two favorites in the title race in England parted in a draw (2-2) on Sunday, after a succession of twists and turns.

The Premier League experienced its first highlight of the season. The clash between the two best teams of the moment, Manchester City and Arsenal, sparked. Each led to the score. The former quickly lost one of its key players to injury, Rodri. The other kept his back for the entire second period, curled up in his area, to maintain his tiny advantage in the score until the 97th minute, when the Cityzens equalized through John Stones (2-2).

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

Manchester City are not four-time reigning English champions (and current leaders) for no reason. When Jérémy Doku and Savinho cannot find the fault, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish come off the bench and the ball still ends up rushing into the area. If the attackers are not there to push him into the back of the net, a defender can very well do it, like the savior of the evening, John Stones, mounted on a corner and attentive after a shot pushed back in front of the line. It allows his team to extend its impressive invincibility at home in all competitions, which has been running since November 12, 2022, i.e. 50 matches.

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

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