Man City vs Arsenal: Stones rescues Guardiola's men against Arteta's set-piece masters in Etihad thriller

Man City vs Arsenal: Stones rescues Guardiola's men against Arteta's set-piece masters in Etihad thriller

Ifeanyi Ufomadu 18:51 - 22.09.2024

Manchester City needed a last-minute strike from John Stones to steal a point in a thrilling 2-2 encounter at the Etihad Stadium.

It might be early in the season but Arsenal and Manchester City served a healthy meal of drama at the Etihad.

Erling Haaland had opened the scoring for the hosts after just 9 minutes, finishing brilliantly after being played through by Savinho.

The champions looked up for it and poured forward in search of the second goal, with Savinho in particular looking menacing.

Having seized control of proceedings, things began to go downhill for the hosts following an injury to crucial midfielder Rodri, with whom they have been unbeaten in the PL since February 2023.

Following his substitution, Arsenal almost immediately hit back as Gabriel Martinelli laid it back to Riccardo Calafiori, who marked his first start for the club with a stunning left-foot curler that drifted away from Ederson’s reach.

The visitors looked extremely dangerous from there, and they eventually took the lead when Gabriel stormed past Kyle Walker to meet and nod in Bukayo Saka’s deep corner from point-blank range.

However, Arsenal’s spirits were dampened significantly on the stroke of halftime when Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

That sent City on the rampage following the restart, and they utterly dominated possession while peppering Raya’s goal with attempts.

The Spaniard was on top form to get down and stop Haaland’s towering close-range header, before getting well behind a powerful Joško Gvardiol strike.

Just when it looked like a win for Arteta's men, substitute John Stones fired home a rebound to save the champions from defeat and keep them at the top of the table.

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