Man City 0-0 Arsenal: Three key talking points
Manchester City and Arsenal shared the spoils at the Etihad stadium, adding another twist to the three-horse Premier League title race.
Following Liverpool’s 2-1 victory against Brighton and Hove Albion, both sides were under undeniable pressure which was visible for the entirety of the game which saw a total of only three shots on target registered from either side.
Nathan Ake’s header from point blank range fell straight to David Raya, while Gabriel Jesus threatened to break the deadlock. The former Man City forward had several efforts blocked, while the most threatening of them all hit the side netting.
It put an end to Arsenal’s eight-match winning streak as well as City’s winning run at home versus the Gunners.
As it stands, Liverpool are two points adrift of Arsenal, while City are one behind Mikel Arteta’s side.
In what was an underwhelming draw considering the hype around the fixture, we look at the key talking points below.
Goalless first half indicates pragmatism from both teams
The flow of the game was evident a few minutes into the opening exchanges. Man City assembled into their fluid shape with the ball and stretched Arsenal in every way possible.
That being said, Pep Guardiola and co. seldom took risks or overcommitted to their actions. Arsenal, on the other hand, played to take the sting out of the game in the opening 45. The message was clear – there would be plenty of defending to do for the Gunners.
A corner fell straight to Ake – who was replaced by Rico Lewis due to injury midway through the first half – while Mateo Kovacic’s curling effort from 25 yards out was all City had to show in front of goal.
Arsenal were no more inspiring going forward either, with neither Bukayo Saka or Martin Odegaard able to break through City’s back line.
Haaland struggles versus Arsenal’s center backs
We often see Erling Haaland manning the box and not wasting much time racking up threatening attacks. But today, he was hardly able to make an impact on the game. And a huge amount of credit must go to each of Arsenal’s back four.
Gabriel did the dirty work in latching on to him when he had his back to goal. William Saliba would man-mark the runner if Haaland managed to hold up play and release a ball. And the two imperious center-halves were joined by Jakub Kiwior and Ben White for crosses and corners. They also proved superior to the Norwegian in the air, much to his frustration.
Haaland ultimately failed to test Raya. After all, he was up against arguably the best defensive pairing in the division at present.
Organized defending shuns out the final ball
While Man City tried to wear Arsenal down, the visitors sat in a counter-attacking setup. Neither, though, was able to catch the opposition off-guard.
Guardola’s side had just one shot to show for the 73% possession they maintained. In fact, it could be argued Arsenal had the better chances on either side of the break.
The home side, urged by the crowd throughout, setup well to prevent breakaway goals from a set piece or through Arsenal’s wingers. And when Odegaard found himself in a pocket of space from time to time, the likes of Phil Foden would double up on the left to outnumber Arsenal’s attacks.
The same could be said regarding Jeremy Doku’s attempts off the bench. As sharp as he looked, the youngster missed the perfect pass that would have broken the Arsenal resistance.
It was largely down to the narrow, organized defending from both sides – and they deserve plenty of credit for holding on to their shape for the better part of the 90.
Arsenal committed 20 fouls to break City’s momentum, whereas City was consistently walking the line between putting the pedal down and offense, and not wanting to concede any opportunities the other way. In the end, there was nothing to separate the two stunning defenses, which explains why they are where they are on the PL table.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: wonker. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.