Report: Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal (inc. goals)

Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Martinelli, Saka, Trossard

Subs: Neto, White, Lewis-Skelly, Kiwior, Kacurri, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Sterling, Jesus

Arsenal conceded a devastating last minute equaliser to draw 2-2 with Manchester City at Etihad Stadium – thanks to goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel – before Leandro Trossard was sent off in first half injury time.

Mikel Arteta made two changes to the side that drew against Atalanta on Thursday, with Calafiori and Trossard coming in for Ben White (slight knee issue) and Gabriel Jesus.

Manchester City were also missing Kevin de Bruyne who suffered a calf injury during their midweek Champions League draw against Inter.

Within five seconds there was an incident to consider after Rodri attempted to block Kai Havertz from kick off, only for the German to give him a bump which kept him on the floor for two minutes.

Thankfully Rodri was unharmed and fine to continue, and Erling Haaland responded by giving William Saliba another bump after both players challenged for an aerial duel. Those two challenges wasted little time in creating a fiery atmosphere.

Those two incidents aside, it was City who started strongest and they were ahead after seven minutes when Savinho rolled inside Calafiori too easily before releasing Erling Haaland through the middle – and the Norwegian striker slotted beyond Raya with typical ease. 1-0.

Both Savinho and Haaland did well in the build-up but it was too easy from an Arsenal perspective, with Calafiori getting sucked in and Gabriel vacating his position to track Bernardo Silva out wide, allowing Haaland the space to drive through the middle.

It was a difficult start for Arsenal who were under extreme pressure in every phase, with Ilkay Gundogan nearly doubling their lead although his free-kick from 20 yards hit the outside of the post.

With City in the ascendancy, a potential game-changing moment occurred around the 20th minute when Rodri fell in the penalty area under attention from Thomas Partey with what looked like a serious knee injury.

The Spanish midfielder looked in tears as he clutched his knee while receiving treatment and after five minutes down on the turf, indicated to Pep Guardiola that he couldn’t continue – with Mateo Kovacic coming on to replace him.

But in their first real attack of the game, Arsenal caught City off-guard and were able to free Martinelli down the left hand side who cut the ball back to Calafiori, with the Italian sending a stunning strike into the top corner on his first Gunners start. 1-1.

It was an incredible goal that sparked wild celebrations on the bench and away end, while City were left furious with referee Michael Oliver because they believed he pulled Kyle Walker out of position before the free kick was taken.

The game settled down by that point and Arsenal looked more confident in possession, were playing nicely through the thirds and able to maintain longer spells of attacking pressure with City still organising themselves after Rodri’s injury.

Arsenal then had two good chances in quick succession when Gabriel rose highest at the back post but headed over, before Trossard also fired over – although he was on the stretch – after a brilliant piece of build up from the visitors.

But City learned very quickly that you cannot give Gabriel another chance to score a header from close range and he did just that, powering in a header after escaping Kyle Walker on the penalty spot. 2-1.

It was another pinpoint delivery from Saka and once the Brazilian had a run on his marker – there was only one outcome. Arteta and Nicolas Jover embraced again on the touchline after executing yet another perfect set piece to give them a valuable lead.

However, just seconds before the half time whistle, another game changing incident would occur when Arsenal were reduced to ten men for the second time this season.

Trossard was given his marching orders for delaying the restart after bumping into Bernardo and kicking the ball away, earning a second yellow card despite the referee blowing his whistle a matter of milliseconds before.

It was naive from the Belgian who is plenty experienced but again there were complaints from Arsenal about how this rule is enforced with Jeremy Doku doing the same thing earlier – and not being booked.

After the break, Arsenal adopted a 5-4-1 formation with Ben White replacing Saka as Arteta’s men prepared to bunker in and defend their lead. The second half would already become a 45 minute attack-vs-defence session.

It took 15 minutes for their first real chance to arrive, when Haaland leapt above Saliba at the back post and saw his downward header saved by David Raya before Bernardo struck the rebound over from close range.

Raya was called into action again shortly after and did well to get his body weight behind a hearty half-volley from Josko Gvardiol.

With 15 minutes remaining, Arsenal continued to frustrate City with a series of blocks and interceptions, and were forced into another change when Calafiori was replaced by Jakub Kiwior after going down with cramp (hopefully).

Guardiola was becoming visibly frustrated with ambitious long shots on the touchline and introduced John Stones, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish in an attempt to change the game.

There was another heart in mouth moment when Gvardiol fired another strike towards the bottom corner – almost from an identical position to his earlier effort – but Raya was behind it once again before an Arsenal defender could clear.

With five minutes left, Gabriel Jesus was introduced for Martinelli who was another player suffering with cramp as City continued to probe without much luck.

As the clock edged its way into injury time, Timber could barely run, Rice was puffing as much air as possible through his lungs, others were getting bumped and bruised with the home fans becoming increasingly frustrated with what they were watching.

Seven minutes were added on and as Arsenal found themselves in the 97th minute, tired bodies couldn’t close down a short corner quickly enough before the ball eventually bobbled to John Stones who bundled home the equaliser. 2-2.

It was a devastating moment for the Gunners who defended brilliantly all game but saw three points snatched from their grasp with seconds remaining. The goal also sparked fights between both sets of players and benches, reminiscent of those Liverpool v Manchester City games from a few years back.

After a difficult week which contained three away games, travelling to Bergamo and back, one fewer day of rest and being forced to play the whole second half with ten men – this was still an important result that further highlighted this sides’ winning credentials.

This result will be hard to take but there is undoubtedly plenty to feel encouraged by as another title race beckons.