10-men Arsenal’s nerve to come out against free-flowing Manchester City shows the final matchday (Man City vs Arsenal) of the season is going to be far more nail-biting.
On Sunday, Riccardo Calafiori’s exquisite equalizer on his first Arsenal start left Kyle Walker with nothing, but frustration. The Manchester City full-back believes the conversation with referee Michael Oliver delayed the time to get back to his position thereby opening up the space for the goal.
In reality, Walker had enough time to reach Gabriel Martinelli after Arsenal quickly restarted play. But he was keen on the make-believe process, that his teammates lost focus.
Nowadays football has inclined more towards responding to errors and adversity rather than focusing on the game. In that POV, Arsenal had won, however, the result did not transient the same as a huge victory early in the Premier League title race was nabbed by John Stones in the dying 98th minute, rescuing a 2-2 draw for City. This was a gut punch for the North-London visitors, but once the wounds heal, Mikel Arteta will have nothing but appreciation for his team’s performance, as it was the Gunners’ best display so far this season.
Gabriel also joined Walker, in the dwelling. Frankly, the Brazilian was rightly blamed for Haaland‘s opener as he ran through ample free space, with centre-back William Saliba, giving Savinho enough room for the assist. Moreover, Savinho made losing Calafiori and Saliba like a walk in the park, before engaging with Ilkay Gundogan in the middle. The calculative Norwegian made the right move and Gabriel got sucked towards Bernardo Silva’s movement costing the error.
Soon, Gabriel reached redemption, by scoring a goal and making five clearances along with three blocked shots.
Resilience in Red
In recent seasons, Arsenal were always put under the bus due to their failure to cope with critical moments. Many have pointed especially at the lack of willpower to dethrone Manchester City. Arteta’s side are yet to forget Declan Rice’s controversial red card in August against Brighton & Hove Albion, claiming the issue remains unresolved.
But, the Gunners were different in the Etihad after Trossard was sent off as Gabriel upped his ability, along with Arsenal rolling up their sleeves to prove a point.
Rather this 10 men Arsenal tactic was very unfamiliar.
In the post-match interview, Stones said “I wouldn’t say Arsenal have mastered the dark arts. They’ve done it for a few years and we know to expect that. You can call it dirty or clever,”
“They break up the game which upsets the rhythm when you’re trying to get momentum.”
Arsenal was closing in on their sweetest reward when a shot until Stones’ scruffy finish saw two points snatched away from the visitors. This heavy blow did not have much of an impact as there is a long season ahead.
“It is already a miracle we played 56 minutes at the Etihad with 10 men. It is unbelievable what we have done,” Arteta told BBC Sport’s Match of the Day.
Also Read: Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal player ratings as John Stones last minute equaliser denies victory for the 10-man Gunners