Second place Arsenal travelled to the Etihad Stadium to face third place Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
For all of the attacking stars on display it was actually the brilliant defenders that were the stars of the show. Specifically Arsenal’s central defenders.
During the entire match, Gabriel and William Saliba demonstrated a defensive masterclass, reaffirming their effectiveness as a strong defensive duo. Their performance saw them keep superstar Erling Haaland extremely quiet.
The Norwegian international international failed to register a single shot on target. Additionally, he finished the match with a 64% pass completion rate.
Following the match, Micah Richards confessed on Sky Sports: “I was disappointed with Man City in the final third. They did a lot of great work until they got into the final third. Haaland made plenty of different runs but the link-up play was non-existent.
“Haaland needed to do more. Saliba and Gabriel had him in their pockets.”
Manchester City and Arsenal play out to a draw
Despite all the hype leading up to the highly anticipated showdown at the Etihad Stadium, the match ultimately turned out to be rather uneventful.
The game’s best chance came in the first half when Nathan Ake headed narrowly at Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya from a corner. However, Ake’s departure due to a calf injury compounded City’s defensive woes. They were without Ederson, John Stones and Kyle Walker.
Despite City’s setbacks, Arsenal failed to trouble stand-in goalkeeper Stefan Ortega significantly.
In the dying moments, substitute Leandro Trossard provided a late threat from an angle, following missed opportunities from City’s replacement Jeremy Doku.
The draw sees Liverpool maintaining a two-point lead over the Gunners and a three-point lead over the defending champions and last season’s treble winners Manchester City.