Arsenal will feel very hard done by after they were mere seconds away from earning a famous victory against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, but a late John Stones goal ended the game at 2-2.
Here are some key takeaways from the draw against Manchester City.
We Have an Amazing Gem in David Raya
After putting up a virtuoso performance against Atalanta, David Raya picked up where he left off with another brilliant performance against Manchester City. Raya made nine saves in the match and made many claims to keep the game at bay.
Raya is clearly the standout player for the team in the new campaign.
Officiating in the Premier League is a Joke
In our 5 Bold Predictions for Manchester City vs. Arsenal article, there was a prediction to expect some drama from the referee. Michael Oliver was the man with the whistle on the night and when we needed a referee to add some calm to a pulsating encounter, he decided to go into business for himself.
Early in the game, Jeremy Doku booted the ball out after Oliver had blown his whistle and there was no ramification. However, Bernardo Silva backed into Leandro Trossard and fell on the ground like he had been shot. Oliver blew the whistle quite all right but Trossard booted the ball, which was a very silly thing to do, especially with the fact that he was on a yellow card. Oliver gave Trossard a chance of an early bath with a second bookable offense, when he could have spoken to the Belgian and calmed the game.
That changed the outcome of the game, sending Arsenal to defensive mode from the second half. What a shame.
Gabriel is a Monster from Corner Kicks
We have always known how good Gabriel is from set pieces but he has taking it up a notch this season, scoring consecutive headers in back-to-back games. Gabriel scored the goal that proved to be the match winner against Tottenham and was seconds away for being the match winner against Manchester City.
That was his 15th goal in the Premier League and we expect more to come.
Arsenal’s Defending was Exemplary
Going into 45 minutes with a man down against the defending champions was an uphill task and despite the fact that Manchester City eventually unlocked the Arsenal defense in the second half with a last-gasp goal, Arsenal’s defending was down right exemplary.
Every player gave 110 percent for the team and players like Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber had to leave because of cramping. Gabriel Martinelli worked extra hard for the team and ran out of steam, before he was replaced by Gabriel Jesus that defended well too.
It’s not a fluke that Arsenal raked out 18 clean sheets last season and their performances in these tough away clashes showed their defensive prowess.
