Arsenal lie second in the table after holding Man City to a 0-0 draw at the Etihad this afternoon.
It wasn’t a classic by any means, but our record there is such that Mikel Arteta’s game-plan was designed to ensure that first we didn’t lose. It also means we’ve taken 4 points from 6 against City this season, and who knows how important that could be as we continue our title push.
Here’s how the players rated this afternoon.
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Read the Man City 0-0 Arsenal match report here
Saliba Gabriel Rice – such a MASSIVE three
It’s CRAZY, absolutely BONKERS, to think that we could have them playing together for the next 4 years! That’s MAD because Saliba and Rice will, obviously, improve with age. Gabby and Rice will be in their prime, and the understanding between them will improve even further with time. I never watched the Bould and Adams days, but I heard of them. Watched a bit of Kolo-Campbell, Koscielny-Per. This one is going to be right up there with any of those pairs, I reckon. I am really excited about the future of this football club. Thank you Mikel, Josh, Edu, Per,… Read more »
I watched the Adams/Bould partnership but it also included Dixon & Winterburn. Today, I thought White and Rice stepped into that partnership too!
BRILLIANT Boys! I loved it!
Bould was good. But Adams was that kind of player who makes everyone else play stellar. Much like Saliba seem to be. With Adams it didn’t matter if it was Bould, Keown, Linighan they always played great in the cb-lock!
Watched that legendary back 4 a lot and I think Saliba is more the Bould character to Big Gabi’s Tone the Man.
Adams was the grit, the voice, the in-yer-face presence, backed up by Bouldy’s ‘silent assassin’ solidity (Saliba) and Martin’s peerless shit-housery (he was peerless at the darker defending arts and Benny Blanco seems to have someting of that in him, albeit playing in a different position).
Mark my words lads, if we can keep these 6 (White, Willie, Big Gabi, Tomi and – yes – Kiwior), we are in for a fantastic 4-6 years on the defensive front.
Agreed that our defensive options looks promising for the future but Kiwior is NOT a full back long term. He’s a left sided centre half or DM.
Adams and Bould made two relatively modest skill sets go a hell of a long way
They’re Tea Persons now I fear….
0/10 for Gael Clichy saying Arsenal needed to beat City if they want to be champions. Does he know there are still 9 more games to go?
So true and naive of him to neglect talkinh about how blunt city were. They had all there forward stars available and we still kept them out.
I kinda get where he is coming from… I think on paper we have a slightly harder set of remaining games, thought they have a little more congestion with the FA Cup.
We are capable of winning 9/9 but it will be challenging… and that’s kinda the bar City have set in recent seasons.
Yes on paper our games are harder, but at the same time we’ve struggled the most against teams that play a low block and just sit back. The likes of Sp*rs, Chelski, Villa, Manure, Brighton are, on paper, better technical teams but those games will be more open and we will have more chances. With our defence, we shouldn’t have problems and we will have enough chances to score. So I’m not sure if for us that run-in is harder. Every game in the Premier League is very tough and there is potential for any of the 3 teams to… Read more »
Not sure I agree that games against the more expansive ‘technical’ sides will be easier: anyone in the bottom 8 will be clawing and scratching for their lives when we meet them
You think these teams are better than us?! 🤔
City are a tricky team! They have Barcelona during Messi vibes!
No absolutely not! I am comparing our run-in with City/Liverpool’s run-in. We are playing the better technical teams compared to who they are playing, but I’m not sure that means our games will be harder
It’s the narrative the media put out there before the game. Many pundits and fans alike just took it and ran with it. Sad. Even Klopp NEVER beat Pep at the Eithad in these title race games. So why is should it be a negative for us? I am more than happy with this result. We are more likely to win the next 9 than Liverpool are. We have a superior GD and any slip from them (even a draw), we are back in front! If they do go ahead to win all 9 of their remaining games, then fair… Read more »
Yes, and now we’re in the extremely unfortunate position of needing Tottenham and/or Man U to beat Liverpool to help us win the title. Ouch.
Can’t be helped. Would be heartily cheering for the Man United on Sunday… Even though I know they are likely to get a shellacking from Liverpool.
Easy decision tbh
Sp*ds are capable of beating Liverpool and what a delicious irony that would be if they did…
Oh yeah. Liverpool play Manu at Old Trafford after the midweek game. I know we have to win our games but here’s me hoping manu play their own part and take point(s) off them..
Even if we had lost today we would still be right in it – FFS we would have only been three points behind Liverpool.
Remembering how we approached this same fixture last April what did people like Clichy expect?
Fantastic result for Arsenal which means we are undefeated this season against both Liverpool and City.
Good result NOT a fantastic one. City havent beaten a top 5 team this season.
Fair enough – however, it would certainly have laid down a huge marker if we’d nicked that game today!
Rayas distribution was abysmal today, iffy is definitely a let off. Overall though I do think it was a good performance considering we clearly were letting them have it, hence why there were so many long balls. It prevented the possibility of them winning it in our zone, but I would have liked to see a crisper passing and a few less smashing downfield.
Thought a fair few of our players were nervous today (especially at the beginning of the game). Raya was one of them who I thought never shook it off. Maybe the fact that he slipped about 3 times in the first half when trying to clear/pass affected him.
Only White showed an incredible degree of composure from the get-go, imo.
Spot on. There were definite nerves first half. It wasn’t just the slipping with raya today. He smashed it out a couple of times. We didn’t have the pace in the lineup today to try the over the top ball that works so well against city, and it was really windy I’ve been told. Second they were more secure looking. White is truly a big game player with the poise of a champion. Becoming a favourite of mine.
Benny blanco doesn’t watch pundits, nor listen to the Man City hypes.
To him it’s just another game
No need for nerves.
If only the other guys can kick out the mental block of “the best team in the world” and really let go.
But good steely defending performance.
Enjoyed it.
yeah, for all the “good with his feet” talk, he was very poor today distributing the ball. then again, this was probably the highest level match he has played in his entire career. same as kiwior. and they were as good as the champions of europe at their place. so my chips are on them learning from it and arsenal winning 3-0 next time we visit them.
Cash your chips in now
I thought Gabriel and Saliba were 10’s today – the defending against (and it pains me to say it) the best team in the world, was imperious.
10’s defensively for sure, I think Blogs would argue (and I would too) that they fell short of that mark on the ball, we often struggled to get the ball out behind City’s press and those two and Kiwior were probably the main culprits of that. For me Ode deserves an 8 too, I get why we often rate a player in his position more by chances and goals created, but I honestly feel like in a game like this his defensive contribution was just as valuable as anything Gabby or Saliba did. Beyond the chances created from them it’s… Read more »
Odegaard played really well but his final choice of pass was often found wanting.
I just read Willy’s passing stats, fair enough didn’t realise it was that below his usual standard.
Big Gabi and Saliba absolutely fantastic. Saka looked tired/injured. A little bit anticlimactic but not a bad result.
We are a defensive unit made of defensive units. Every title winning side is based on a mean and physical defence. Ours is the best in the league: the stats prove it and our eyes confirm it.
Restricting Citeh to 2 shots on target across 2 games is immense.
Interested to see how we feel about that as a result, I personally feel its a great result 4 points from city and 4 from Liverpool says to me we are now legit part of the ‘big boy’s club’
A good result considering we have so many walking wounded. Bukayo and Gabi Martinelli were clearly far from fit, Ben White strapped up, probably others too. I would’ve loved to win, but I’m really proud of the massive effort this team put in, and after a stupid International break too. We’re the real deal for sure.
even more incredible when you think how long it took this team to gel and how many points we dropped against less than stellar opponents while that process was simmering… on current form we’d more or less cruise to a title
If only we’d gone to Dubai a month earlier!
Yeah – interesting stat shows that of the ‘Big 3′ meetings this season – we’ve taken 8 points off ’em and they only have 3 each.
Top table indeed!
I can’t dislike Citeeee.
Remember , while we were shit, they made sure Utd were trophyless
I quite easily dislike city. I just dislike Manchester collectively.
Manchester is the dance capital of England
Twat capital, more like.
Famous for drug lords, stabbings, shootings, ponces and nonces
Sitting there bathing in sportswashed petro-dollars with 115 unaddressed charges while poor sods Forest trying to get their footing get points deductions…yeah, easy for me to dislike City.
Dodgy cunts.
Saka was abysmal, I get he may not be fully fit but he shouldn’t have played then
Harsh
Yes, he was poor by his own high standards but worked tirelessly defensively. The physical expenditure of tracking City for 30 passes or more and then having the energy to launch a counter attack is beyond most teams who come up against City.
0/10 — all the water on the pitch that made the game a bit Slip ‘n Slide.
You know we have done ok when Mikel is waving at the away fans whilst saint Pep runs on to the pitch and has an epi at Jack Grealish. I know who will be more pissed off tonight and it ain’t the gunners!
Arteta got his tactics spot on (a win would have made them Goldilocks) I doubt Grealish even understands spoken English unless he’s drawn pictures.
100/10 that recovery run from MØ on top of Jorginho to double White on Grealish.
Yep – and Gabi J backing up Kiwior constantly as well. Also Saka with Benny – wide players put in a proper shift.
Odegaard would outrun a Duracell bunny
I watched the game back, and was surprised how often and how effectively Ødegaard put pressure on them high up the pitch, especially in the second half. Yes, he made a couple of really oddly bad passes, which are really noticeable when he does it–but in fact it really was only a couple. He was all over the pitch for 90 minutes, harassing them and making sure they were rarely comfortable. I would have rated him at 7.0 after watching the game as it happened; more like an 8.0 or even 8.5 on a second viewing. (Saka was better than… Read more »
Great strides for arsenal taking four points from the defending champs
We’ve taken 8 from the top table triangle whilst each them only have 3 to show for it.
City haven’t beaten any top 5 side this season
A 6 is a bit harsh for Havertz.
I’ve dished out plenty criticism of Havertz on here this season but I thought he was great today (from a defensive perspective)
Had a heart-in-mouth moment when KDB powered away from Partey like in a match in the not-too-distant past. Thankfully, the backline was well marshaled and the threat was snuffed out
Would have ran away from Jorgi much the same.
Is it just me that admires KDN so much as a footballer but thinks he’s an insufferable moaning cunt as a person?
That should read KDB. Apologies
Looking ahead, Tomiyasu and Partey coming on in a game of this intensity and looking sharp (the former) and a lot less rusty (the latter) are big positives. We’re going to need them both to be playing at a high level if we’re to win the PL and/or CL.
Who lost Haaland, who luckily miskicked, after City corner late on… thought it was criminal
Saka and Saliba were closest to Haaland at the corner. Should have gone to Specsavers.
We may have seen a different game. As good as the defensive effort undeniably was, that one momentary lapse of reason could cost losing the game. See the replays.
Same old name for a reason.. but Havertz, what a shift. Whilst clearly we didn’t have much of the ball as a team and consequently he didn’t individually either.. but when he did, he rarely put a foot wrong. Would love to see the running stats between him and Odegaard!
I felt he was 2 seconds behind everyone else, didn’t hold up the ball, miskicked tons and didn’t run anywhere near as much as Skipper or wide players. Lots of feet going very wrong
I feel like Blogs is being a bit mean today. I think if so many players really played 7s the no way we get a point and a clean sheet. All 8s at least for me. Gritty, unattractive 8s
Disagree on Havertz, thought he was immense in the first half.
He won everything that was thrown up to him in the air but had no support to exploit that.
4 out of 6 against City feels huge. Whatever the table says, I still think they’re favourites over Liverpool.
Strangely satisfying to see us park the bus for a change – and to do it with such almost flawless concentration… holding Citeh to just ONE shot on target over 95 minutes!
I’ll take it 8 days outa 7.
Arteta has learned that the key to getting the better of City is containment (as no-one’s going to overpower them). ‘Parking the bus’ seems overly simplistic. The physical expenditure involved in closing City down and denying them space to run into for 90 + minutes makes counter attacking very difficult. This was a remarkably similar game to the one at the Emirates in Oct 2023 where Arsenal had to defend resolutely for long spells.
Saka really wasn’t himself. Seemed to be struggling physically. Wasn’t the sharpness that he usually has, and I never seen him and Raya slip so often as the kicking the ball.
Raya adjusted well though and stood more upright with his kicks. But they were more looping kicks.
I hope this wasn’t something a groundsman can identify and repeat at other grounds. As the Raya pinged pass is such a weapon for us.
Although City were setup to just dominate and not allow any sort of high press, so we will never know if their keeper was struggling for grip too
If our summer transfer window was based purely on the yardstick of playing twice against City only. Then we would be buying someone who can replicate Partey’s role and a dual footed winger who can reduce the minutes Saka and Martinelli need to overwork themselves with. Thought that we really broke loose from the boa constrictor tactic once City tried to win the game with their attacking subs and we very very quickly brought on our response team of Tomi and Partey. Mikel really understands the mechanism of the City game and which players are suitable for which part and… Read more »
Strangely negative vibes here. We stopped City scoring at home for the first time in 58 matches and restricted them to one accidental shot off a shoulder. I thought it was one of the best collective defensive performances I’ve ever seen from us, making arguably the best team in Europe (and world’s best striker) look impotent. And our front 5 worked tirelessly feeding off scraps. If Martinelli had been fit to start instead of Jesus (and if Saka had been fit) we could – would – have won by a goal or two. I’d give the whole team 9/10 apart… Read more »
We dodged a bullet when Ake missed a sitter from two yards out but apart from that, were never seriously troubled. Superb defensive performance
Saka could NOT defend or attack…
Should he then be playin’ ?
No guts no glory!
Stinks seeing Liverpool move in front of us again, but will take a point at City. We’ve played them twice this year and allowed two shots on goal total and no goals scored which is really incredible consider how much possession we conceded them today.
I feel the Havertz and Rice ratings are harsh. City are brilliant off the ball which often goes overlooked and I actually just wished we had them on the field last season. Rice is a bomb disarmer, and Havertz’s physicality + Odegaard’s high pressing relieved us from City’s vice-like pressure many times today. I felt that when we struggled to find an outlet because of their positional play, Rice still swept is an disarmed a few dangerous plays for us. They were two big reasons we looked City’s equals today. Also, I know he’s divisive but Partey is a highly,… Read more »
Havertz won practically everything in the air today but didn’t really have the support for us to make the most of it. The game was never going to be a classic as the sole aim was containment which we did very well.
OK, so obviously a brilliant defensive display but could/should we have done more considering Cities back line was weaker than normal? Was it a 1 point won or potentially 2 points dropped? I’m undecided in this myself. Had we have gone more attacking we may have laid ourselves more open to them. On the other hand I’d say we’re the best attacking side in the league atm.