Manchester City 1 (Erling Haaland 9)
Arsenal 1 (Gabriel Martinelli 90+2)
Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City drew 1-all with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Erling Haaland gave City an early lead with a calm finish after a driving Tijjani Reijnders run. Pep Guardiola’s side would hold onto that lead until the 92nd minute when Gabriel Martinelli got on the end of an Eberechi Eze long ball to chip Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Pep Guardiola’s side defended resolutely throughout the match. The City player ratings reflect City’s defensive performance rather than the quality of their display in possession. The result and defensive performance from City does represent progress. While Martinelli’s late equaliser stings, there is are signs that Pep Guardiola’s side is growing.
City player ratings
Gianluigi Donnarumma-7/10: Made several straightforward saves and commanded his area well. The only knock on his performance was his positioning for Martinelli’s equaliser.
Abdukodir Khusanov-7.5/10: Khusanov was superb defensively in the first half. His recovery pace was key to him snuffing out several Arsenal attacks. The hope is that he hasn’t sustained a troublesome foot injury.
Ruben Dias-7.5/10: I thought he led Manchester City’s defence well. Looks to be getting back into top form.
Josko Gvardiol-7.5/10: -A good performance from Gvardiol and he put in some crucial challenges in his 100th appearance for Manchester City.
Nico O’Reilly-7/10: Defended well against Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka, although he did have his testing moments. A good performance from O’Reilly in a big game.
Rodri-7/10: Like his team he defended well. His positioning out of possession was top notch.
Bernardo Silva-8.5/10: His workrate over the 90 minutes was superb. Did all he could for his team.
Tijjani Reijnders-7.5/10: Grabbed an assist for Haaland’s goal with a brilliant driving run and pass. I thought he was good in winning his duels although he was sloppy in possession on occasions.
Phil Foden-7/10: Foden didn’t affect the game in possession as he would’ve liked. But he did the defensive work his team needed until he was taken off in the 68th minute. That is why he gets a 7/10.
Jeremy Doku-8/10: Offered a threat in the second half on the counter. Played in Haaland and almost set up another goal for his team. A quality performance from Doku.
Erling Haaland-8/10: Scored the opener and gave everything physically before he was taken off. Haaland was up for the fight against the Arsenal defence, and the growth in his game is clear to see.
Substitutes
Matheus Nunes-7.5/10: Came on at halftime for Khusanov and defended brilliantly. Hopefully he can take some confidence out of that performance.
Nathan Ake- N/A: Not on long enough to mark.
Nico-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.
Savinho-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.
John Stones-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.
