Five issues Mikel Arteta discovered as Arsenal fall to late draw at Man City
Ten-man Arsenal battled to a 2-2 draw against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Mikel Arteta’s side came into the fixture ravaged by a key omission, with captain Martin Odegaard sidelined as well as Oleksandr Zinchenko. Almost obviously, Erling Haaland opened the scoring with his 100th Man City goal on the nine-minute mark.
However, just 11 minutes later, Arsenal equalised through a lovely strike from Calafiori. Arsenal took the lead through Gabriel just before half-time with a corner finding the head of the Brazilian centre-back.
Read More:Erling Haaland accomplishes ‘mind boggling’ achievement with early strike against Arsenal
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The match followed a ferocious pattern, with incidents all over the field culminating in Trossard’s sending-off, late in the first half.
Arteta’s side were parked in their own half for most of the remaining minutes and eventually conceded a stoppage time equaliser, John Stones got the goal late on. The result sees the Gunners go fourth in the Premier League.
Declan Rice’s control is crucial
With the obvious comparisons between the two, Declan Rice might have been delighted to see Rodri limp off during the first half.
This was the England international’s first Premier League start since his sending-off against Brighton a few weeks prior. The midfielder provided a foil for his partner Thomas Partey – and stayed disciplined in his defensive shape throughout the game.
Yes, Rodri limping off may have helped his case, but Arsenal look like a more confident outfit with Rice pulling the strings in midfield. The 25-year-old looked like a real leader in the second-half regularly instructing his teammates as the Gunners tried to defend their lead with a compact, low block.
Gabriel is a huge threat at corners
Haaland powered through the heart of Arsenal’s defence for the opener and left both Gabriel and Saliba wondering, ‘How did that happen?’
However, Gabriel stepped up in the final third, heading home a corner just before the break. This felt ominous as the Brazilian looked threatening from set pieces all afternoon.
Jamie Carragher even suggested City should put two men on the defender, such was the threat. The Sky pundit’s observation was correct, given the fact Gabriel scored the winner against Spurs from a set-piece last weekend.
Saliba also recovered from the early setback and looked calm under pressure with several smart clearances and tackles. The pair had to really dig in when Arsenal had a player fewer for the second half.
Handing Riccardo Calafiori his debut was correct
Calafiori arrived from Bologna this summer after seeing them to a fifth-place finish in Serie A last season – helping them qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Italy failed to impress at the Euros, but his performances were enough to see Arsenal depart with a reported £42m.
The Italian was handed his full Premier League debut at the Etihad – a decision which proved successful in the first 20 minutes as he curled a left-footed strike past Ederson to draw Arsenal level against the run of play. In terms of defence, he was solid and dealt with Bernardo Silva’s trickery.
Surprisingly, the full-back, who is known more for his defensive exploits, asked questions of Kyle Walker with his willing attacking threat all afternoon. Unfortunately for Calafiori, he was withdrawn due to seemingly picking up a knock late in the second half.
Leaving Ben White as sub worked out
The Arsenal boss left right-back White out of his starting line-up despite completing the midweek Champions League game against Atalanta. Jurrien Timber took his place allowing Calafiori to make his full debut for the Gunners.
His replacement, Timber, looked assured against the speedster Jeremy Doku but White’s absence changed the overall balance of the defence. In such a big game, if he’s fit enough for the bench, surely he’s fit enough to start in what could be a title decider?
The Dutchman, who has played on the right so far this term, looked comfortable in a game of huge magnitude, which will give Arteta food for thought if he continues his great form.
White did feature, and he was brought on at half-time with Saka withdrawn more due to tactical reasons, than based on his performance. In fairness to White, he battled well, given his fitness and the importance of the game.
Arsenal still lack targets in the final third
For much of the game, Arsenal lacked a focal point in attack. The pairing of Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard were redundant for much of the first 45 minutes of the game, as opposed to City’s Haaland who used his pace and power to open the scoring.
You can’t help but think, ‘What would happen?’ if Arsenal had a true goalscorer or just someone to hold the ball up. Although wingers Bukayo Saka and Martinelli looked energetic throughout the first-half.
Trossard, who was later sent off following a second yellow for kicking the ball away, should have done better on 41 minutes when the ball slid across the box, setting up the Belgian who may not want to watch that one back. Ironically, two defenders chipping in with goals may have masked this problem for now.
