24-0. No, that wasn’t the full-time score at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. It was the number of shots Manchester City had to Arsenal‘s tally in the second half of their thrilling 2-2 draw.
Things threatened to go oh-so wrong for Arsenal but they rallied – as did Manchester City to their credit – and with one of the last kicks of the game, substitute John Stones bundled the ball home. We have a title race, well perhaps it’s too early to tell, but the significance behind this game already felt colossal.
The Gunners came to the Etihad last season and stifled the Citizens, although they did so in pretty unentertaining circumstances, eventually drawing the game 0-0.
Had Mikel Arteta‘s men won that day then they likely would have been crowned champions. Alas, they settled for a point and were forced to do so this weekend too. Will they live to regret the result? We won’t know until next May.
That said, Arsenal have to be given praise, not for Leandro Trossard‘s red card, which was a moment of madness but for their defensive organisation, their mental fortitude and their remarkable levels of concentration.
Wave after wave of City attacks were thrown in the direction of William Saliba, Gabriel and Co but Pep Guardiola’s side failed to break them down until the dying embers. Cue bedlam, rare bedlam let’s be honest at Manchester City but it showed just what this game meant to both sets of supporters.
So, why did Arsenal have to sit back for an entire 45 minutes, camped within 25 yards of their own goal? Ahem, we’re looking at you Mr Trossard.
Why Trossard was sent off
Not again, surely? Jurrien Timber’s face said it all. Kai Havertz’s face said it all. The Arsenal pair were staggered, as was Arteta at Michael Oliver’s decision to send Trossard off.
Only a few weeks ago we saw club-record signing Declan Rice sent off in controversial fashion, nudging the ball away (delaying the restart) and being shown a second yellow card.
Well, with that in mind, Trossard’s red was slightly more understandable. Even then it was remarkably harsh.
The Belgian had been shown a yellow earlier in the first half for tugging back on Bernardo Silva’s jersey and then committed another offence on the Portuguese as the opening 45 minutes reached its climax.
The foul was pretty innocuous. A free-kick had been given but the club’s number 19 decided to smack the ball away once the whistle had already gone. On a yellow card, the former Brighton man was given his marching orders. Off he went for an early bath.
What felt even more unjust was that Jeremy Doku was given no punishment for seemingly kicking the ball away earlier in the opening period.
As Bukayo Saka said after Rice’s red a few weeks back, some consistency would be nice from the officials.
Truth be told, though, it was an incredibly foolish decision from Trossard. Arteta will no doubt back his player but let’s be honest, he should be given a stern telling off and told to fight to earn his place back.
It wasn’t a great day at all for the Belgium international who also saw Gabriel Martinelli return to somewhere near his best, assisting Riccardo Calafiori’s incredible first-half equaliser.
So, while Trossard will have a battle on his hands to get back in the starting XI, as too should Ben White.
Why Ben White didn’t start against Man City
When the lineups were announced it was perhaps a surprise to see two changes made to the Arsenal team, particularly with one of them seeing White removed from the lineup.
The right-back had played every minute of the campaign prior to the weekend’s trip to Manchester but was only deemed fit enough for a place among the subs on this occasion.
“It was a little bit forced [to drop White and start Calafiori], but we are okay,” Arteta said before kick-off. “We’ve done it with different players but we have full belief in the players we have. It gives us something different.”
Considering Calafiori scored, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Either way, White was forced to play the second half. Saka was the sacrificial lamb as Arteta’s men migrated to a back five.
Calafiori vs Man City | |
|---|---|
Minutes played | 74 |
Touches | 32 |
Accurate passes | 16/17 (94%) |
Clearances | 3 |
Tackles | 3 |
Ground duels won | 4/7 |
Aerials won | 0/1 |
Dribble attempts | 1/1 |
Shots | 1 |
Key passes | 0 |
Possession lost | 3x |
Stats via Sofascore. | |
The £150k-per-week earner did well. Despite having fewer touches (8) than goalkeeper David Raya, he completed 100% of his passes and won his only aerial duel, but should now face an uphill battle to get back in the starting XI.
Why? Well, Calafiori has surely locked down the left-hand side with his impressive display and Jurrien Timber was also exceptional at right-back, deputising for their £50m signing.
Timber started the campaign at left-back, showcasing his impressive skillset by operating as an inverted full-back. He didn’t invert so much this time out but he was seriously impressive in keeping tricky wingers Doku and Savio quiet.
The Dutchman was only dribbled past once and even if he did remarkably fail to complete a single pass on Sunday afternoon, he stood up to his defensive task astutely, winning four of his seven ground duels and making three tackles.
White has done nothing wrong but given the defensive security that both Timber and their new Italian summer signing gave them, Arteta would be taking a risk to drop them both.
