Manchester City and Arsenal drew 2:2 in the big derby of the fifth round of the English Premier League. There were plenty of nerves, spectacle, a red card and almost expert defensive play from the Gunners at the Etihad, but in the end the champions grabbed a late equalizer to avoid leaving empty-handed.
The beginning was for the Sky Blues. Savinho broke free from Riccardo Calafiori's guard, advanced with a ball at his feet and passed to Erling Haaland, who showed his power and beat David Raya for 1:0. Arsenal looked confused by what was happening on the pitch and could have conceded a second goal, but the post saved Raya from Ilkay Gundogan's free-kick. One of the main players of the home team - Rodri, who is also a contender for the "Golden Ball" - was forced to be substituted. The midfielder was injured in a duel with Thomas Partey, in which the Ghanaian did not hit his Spanish opponent, but Rodri suffered an injury and was substituted. Arsenal equalized almost immediately after the substitution. A quick free-kick found Gabriel Martinelli on the right wing, he cut back to Calafiori and the Italian marked his debut in the starting eleven with a signature shot that left Ederson with no chance. City had claims that Kyle Walker had failed to get back in time to cover Martinelli after being called to account by referee Michael Oliver, but the're was nothing wrong - 1:1.
By the end of the half, the visitors gathered themselves and achieved a complete turnaround. Bukayo Saka's cross from a corner found Gabriel who, like in the city derby with Tottenham, headed home at the far post. At the very end of extra time in the first half, however, Leandro Trossard received a stupid second yellow card for kicking the ball and headed to the dressing room prematurely.
After the break, Arsenal played almost completely in their penalty area. City created more than 20 chances to score, but the Londoners' guard and the entire Arsenal team - in the penalty area and slightly in front of it - defended like lions. However, the iron defense did not withstand the home pressure and in the 98th minute John Stones put the ball into the net after a mix-up. Stones appeared earlier on the field from the bench. There were no further goals until the end and so Arsenal can be proud of themselves and what they achieved in an extremely inhospitable stadium like that of the champions, but they could have walked away with all three points had it not been for a mistake at the very end of the match.
The draw left City at the top with 13 points, the first misstep for the Citizens since the start of the Premiership season. The team leads Liverpool and Aston Villa by one point, while Arsenal is fourth with 11 points. In the next round, the Gunners host Leicester. Before that they are also welcoming Bolton in the League Cup, while Pep Guardiola and his side first play Watford at home in the Cup before visiting Newcastle in the Premier League. | BGNES
