In a very flat game that looked to be petering out to a 0-0 stalemate, Arsenal managed to grab the winner with a late goal from Gabriel Martinelli to beat City 1-0 at the Emirates in what could be a big title deciding game come the end of the year.
Both teams played an extremely cagey game, looking like they were both happy to take a point on the day. Defensive character and tactical chess was the theme of this game between Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, and it was Arsenal who came out on top with their first win against Manchester City in the league since December 2015.
Read on for our Arsenal player ratings, as we look at who were the stand out performers in this massive victory…
David Raya – 6 – Started the first half very shaky with a few mistakes playing out from the back, but grew into the second half and made a few good claims/punches from crosses.
Ben White – 7 – Defended very well on his right side, following Phil Foden inside when he came narrow, and also defending the overlapping run of Josko Gvardiol which City made continuously throughout the game.
William Saliba – 8 – Strong presence that made everyone better and calmer around him. Won several duels with Erling Haaland and did not allow him to face up towards goal at all, real leaders performance.
Gabriel – 8 – Gabriel along with his partner Saliba was excellent, defended strong and aggressive and did not allow any of the City forwards time in central areas to make things happen. Gabriel made three interceptions, one tackle and one block.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 7 – Zinchenko did not invert into midfield this game, and instead had to play more of a classic fullback role. He defended well making two tackles and 1 interception, he also did well covering Alvarez when he came inside to play narrowly off of Haaland.
Jorginho – 6 – Picked up an early yellow card so had to be cautious, but was calm on the ball for the Gunners and helped them to keep possession at times and calm the game down. Jorginho had a 91% pass completion with 63 successful passes out of 69 in his 75 minutes played.
Declan Rice – 7.5 – Rice played a big part in this game, covering a lot of ground in central areas and winning his duels to stop City making any progression through the middle of the pitch. Rice made two clearances (one being off of the line early in the game), one block, three interceptions and three tackles.
Martin Odegaard – 7 – In the first half Odegaard didn’t look as comfortable as usual on the ball and looked a bit rushed, however in the second half he really stepped up and played a big part in leading Arsenal to victory. Very assured on the ball, kept possession well and once Arsenal had the lead he really took responsibility of keeping the ball and retaining possession for the Gunners.
Leandro Trossard – 5 – Came off at halftime for Martinelli, had a relatively quiet first half only having 13 touches and not managing a shot. Played one key pass in his 45 minutes, but struggled to get involved.
Eddie Nketiah – 5 – Nketiah also struggled to get into this game, with all three of his shots being off target, and only managed 19 touches in 75 minutes. He did work hard and pressed well from the front for Arsenal but struggled to make an impact.
Gabriel Jesus – 7.5 – Jesus may not get the plaudits for this game, but he was brilliant for Arsenal. He was an outlet at every opportunity, drifting around the pitch to pick up the ball and alleviate pressure for the Gunners.
Gabriel Martinelli – 7 – Martinelli made a huge impact for Arsenal coming on at halftime. He instantly added some directness to the game, looking to get at the City defenders 1v1, and of course scored the important goal in the 86th minute to win the game.
Subs: Takehiro Tomiyasu 6, Thomas Partey 5, Kai Havertz 6.