Manchester City lost 1-0 to Arsenal in a game that looked set to end 0-0, however a late goal from Gabriel Martinelli meant Arsenal snatched all three points from Manchester City in a big title challengers clash early on this season.
City lost to Arsenal for the first time in the Premier League since 2015, and this could be a monumental moment in this years title challenge, after City pipped the Gunners to the title last season. One of the big reasons the Citizens managed to beat Arsenal to the Premier League title last campaign, was their 3-1 and 4-1 victories over them, giving them that six point swing at the top.
Read on for our Manchester City player ratings, and who really didn’t show up in this clash for City…
Ederson – 6 – There wasn’t much Ederson could do about the goal due to the deflection, he also made a big save inside the box which equated to a 0.81 x/G. He did pick up a yellow card at the end when trying to retrieve the ball quickly whilst Gabriel Jesus was trying to run down the clock.
Josko Gvardiol – 7 – Gvardiol was Manchester City’s main attacking threat, whether this was by design or the defensive set up from Arsenal is unsure. There was a lot of space for him to attack on the overlap down that flank, and it looked like if City were going to score that was going to be the route they took.
Nathan Ake – 6 – Ake was good defensively making three tackles and two clearances, but unfortunately the goal deflected off of him and past Ederson to give Arsenal their 1-0 lead.
Ruben Dias – 6 – Dias barely had any defensive actions in this game, only making the one clearance. He also made a few errors playing out from the back, making 77 successful passes out of 89, giving him an 87% pass accuracy which isn’t as good as it usually is for the defender.
Kyle Walker – 6.5 – Walker offered some attacking threat on the overlap down the right flank, and made a decent amount of defensive actions in the game with two clearances, one interception and two tackles, however maybe could’ve challenged Havertz for the header that led to the Arsenal goal.
Mateo Kovacic – 5 – Was very lucky to be on the pitch after two poor challenges in quick succession in the first half. Was taken off in the 68th minute, and looked like he lost his head in that first half.
Bernardo Silva – 7 – Silva played his role well, dropping deeper than the other midfielders of Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic to receive the ball and help City progress the ball. Silva had a pass accuracy of 95%, making 63 successful passes out of 66.
Rico Lewis – 6 – Lewis was the highest presser for Manchester City, and clearly Guardiola selected him to do this job, which he did well. Lewis pressed up high really well on the Arsenal pivot players, forcing the ball to go long instead of allowing them to play through the midfield lines.
Phil Foden – 6 – Foden looked to create in this game, but the lack of options hurt him in this game. Foden made two key passes, and had one big chance created, however the lack of runners in wide areas due to the narrow nature of City meant that Foden was running into brick walls.
Erling Haaland – 5 – Struggled to get into the game, didn’t manage to take a single shot and lost the ball eight times in his 23 touches. There was a lack of service for Haaland too, but overall just didn’t offer enough.
Julian Alvarez – 5.5 – Alvarez worked hard, and looked to deny Zinchenko the ball in advanced areas, however along with Haaland, he struggled to get into the game. He managed two shots but both of these chances came from his workrate and effort as opposed to linking up with his teammates.
Subs: John Stones 5, Matheus Nunes 5, Jeremy Doku 4.