Arsenal 1-0 Man City: Bitter defeat

Goal

Arsenal:Martinelli (86')

Arsenal entered the match against Man City without star Bukayo Saka due to injury. For Man City, the visitors were without midfielder Rodri due to suspension. The absence of these two top stars has greatly affected the attacking power of both teams.

During the first 45 minutes, the match was quite balanced, in which the away team Man City had more control of the ball, but on a day when both Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez were isolated, the away team's attack was almost harmless, unable to create dangerous situations towards the away team's goal.

The highlight of the first half was that Man City fans could breathe a sigh of relief when VAR did not intervene to review Mateo Kovacic's dangerous tackles on Arsenal players. The Croatian star did not receive a red card, ensuring Man City did not lose before the break.

The second half was a complete contrast, with Arsenal dominating the game while Man City took the initiative to retreat and wait for quick counter-attacks. However, the lack of explosives below made the goal-hunting of top scorer Haaland even longer. The Norwegian star completely disappeared in the middle of Arsenal's defense.

As for Arsenal, despite having more possession and creating more dangerous opportunities, the Gunners still could not penetrate Man City's defense. The opportunities that Arsenal created only brought regret to the fans.

In the 62nd minute, Nathan Ake almost scored an own goal after Gabriel Jesus' solo and shot from a tight angle. However, in the 86th minute, it seemed like the match would end in a draw, but the surprise came when striker Gabriel Martinelli took a shot from outside the box that hit Ake's head and changed direction, scoring against Man City.

For the rest of the match, Man City tried to push up their squad but could not penetrate Arsenal's defense. In the end, coach Guardiola's team suffered a minimal defeat, ending a nearly decade-long unbeaten streak against Arsenal in the Premier League. This defeat also caused Man City to lose the top spot and fall to 3rd place on the rankings with 18 points, 2 points behind Tottenham and Arsenal in the two leading positions.

Line-up

Arsenal:Raya, White, Gabriel, Saliba, Zinchenko (Tomiyasu 75'), Rice, Odegaard, Jorginho (Partey 75'), Trossard (Martinelli 46'), Nketiah (Havertz 75'), Jesus

Man City:Ederson, Gvardiol, Ake, Dias, Walker, Lewis (John Stones 68'), Kovacic (Nunes 68'), Foden, Bernardo Silva, Alvarez (Doku 68'), Haaland