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It was the last kick of a ball by a Manchester City player, John Stones latching on to the rebound after Jakub Kiwior had flung himself into the path of Mateo Kovacic’s shot, just beating the heroic David Raya. Arsenal were seconds away from a statement win, from a seismic victory. Instead, a 98th-minute goal extended City’s unbeaten run at home to 48 games. Their gap to Arsenal remained at two points. After extraordinary drama, nothing changed. And yet, at various points, in different ways, it felt as though everything had.
As Arsenal’s previous trip to the Etihad Stadium brought a 0-0 draw, the scoreline may not suggest they produced a defensive masterclass. Yet they did: a magnificent rearguard action almost brought the ultimate reward, in the sort of result that would reshape a season. As it was, they channelled the spirit of George Graham’s sides in an epic display of obduracy, only to receive a reminder that even when City feel uninspired – and perhaps because Arsenal made them look uninspired – the Gunners still couldn’t kill them off.
Arsenal nevertheless displayed the substance in different forms of adversity to indicate that, if they are to depose City as champions, their hopes need not rest on 115 charges, or even 129. Forget the courtroom, Arsenal demonstrated they could win the title on the pitch. They first went a goal down, later a man down. They emerged in enormous credit and yet the pivotal incident for the campaign may have come when Rodri, the City invincible, went off with his side winning 1-0, a knee injury potentially having far greater consequences than an individual result. City famously don’t lose with Rodri playing: with him watching on, the substitute Stones averted defeat. For Haaland, a 100th City goal came in double-quick time – 10 minutes into the match – and yet became a footnote. Other occasions will be dominated by his statistics. This was not.
City and Arsenal cancelled each other out; but not in the way expected. If City suffered the loss of one talisman, Arsenal lost various kinds: minus injured captain Martin Odegaard, they saw Leandro Trossard senselessly sent off and then sacrificed the stand-in skipper Bukayo Saka. They spent the second half playing 5-4-0, camped around their own box, showing such resistance to indicate they may be the best defensive team in the world. City had 33 shots, but Arsenal largely restricted them to wayward long-range efforts.
And it was a day defined by Arsenal defenders: in both boxes, too. The familiar complaint is that Arteta does not sign his version of Haaland, a potent striker, but a left-back and a centre-back scored. Criticised for showing too little attacking intent in March’s stalemate at the Etihad, Arsenal found the net even in the absence of their injured creator Odegaard. For Riccardo Calafiori, a wonderful curling shot was a goal on his full debut. For Gabriel Magalhaes, a towering header illustrated why he is the most prolific defender in the division. It was redemptive, after Haaland accelerated away from him to score, and yet another set-piece strike for Arsenal’s dead-ball specialists. And yet it was from the second phase of a quickly-taken injury time corner that City levelled.
It was cruel for Arsenal. The brilliant William Saliba was the outstanding player on the pitch. Behind him, David Raya added to his compendium of fine saves with a diving stop to deny Erling Haaland. He twice thwarted Josko Gvardiol, first blocking a drive, then parrying a sweetly-struck volley. Raya is in stupendous form, but he was also superbly protected.
He was beaten early on, though. City began wonderfully. Ilkay Gundogan was outstanding at the start, volleying just wide after his own deft flick, curling a free kick against the post. Savinho was terrific before the break, his skill too much for Trossard when he collected his first caution, supplying the pass when Haaland sprinted clear to prod a shot past Raya.
Then came the Arsenal comeback. It amounted to a chastening outing for Kyle Walker: complaining as Arsenal took a free kick quickly, he allowed Gabriel Martinelli too much room to find Calafiori, who curled a shot from 20 yards into the top corner. With similar precision and rather more frustration, Guardiola booted his seat in the dugout. Then Walker lost Gabriel as he headed in Saka’s corner.
Still later in injury time – or Rodri time, as it stemmed from the time Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey caught him – Trossard bundled into Bernardo Silva and then, in an unwanted echo of Declan Rice’s dismissal against Brighton, kicked the ball away. Michael Oliver, another with an eventful afternoon, expelled him.
Arteta reshaped his team, withdrawing Havertz into midfield, playing without the ball, defending defiantly. For Guardiola, it may have been a reminder of facing Jose Mourinho’s 10-man Inter in the 2010 Champions League semi-finals, but with a different ending. Arsenal celebrated blocks and interceptions; but not victory. They know what it is like to be denied at the death by City, topping the table for 248 days two seasons ago, finishing one point behind them last year. Perhaps, come May, Stones’s goal will be the decisive moment. But at the least, City have further proof they face a formidable rival.
