How Arsenal Came So Close to a Famous Victory Over Man City

Alex Keble analyses the thrilling 2-2 draw between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

The Arsenal players, who fell to the pitch in despair, looked as if they had just lost the title. They know how big this goal could be.

For neutrals, it was the dramatic ending to an exciting, fiery and hard-fought Premier League clash that it deserved. After last year’s 0-0 draw seemed to herald the beginning of a new era of title clashes, this was the match that really brought this budding rivalry to life.

Arsenal came dangerously close to a priceless victory at the Etihad Stadium, but instead John Stones’ equaliser in the eighth minute of second-half injury time forced a three-point conversion between the teams and returned Manchester City to the top of the Premier League table.

The tactical story of the match revolved around Leandro Trossard’s red card turning Arsenal’s daring play into a Jose Mourinho-style retreat.

Arsenal’s confident first half is both its strength and weakness

For the first 45 minutes it wasn’t the match we expected.

Drama, controversy, a red card, three goals and a crazy game were the complete opposite of pre-match expectations.

The chaos ensued as both managers opted for a more aggressive attacking play than expected.

Pep Guardiola fielded direct wingers on both flanks in response to City’s near-successful wing-play performance in the final 0-0 draw in March. It was an understandable change.

The bigger surprise was Arsenal’s approach.

From the outset, Arteta’s men pressed forward aggressively, employing a free-for-all system, willingly leaving their positions to track down individual players.

It had its pros and cons. It led directly to Man City’s opening, but it also indirectly explains how they scored two goals.

Watch the highlights of the Man City 2-2 Arsenal match

Savinho’s clever pass to Erling Haaland was sensational (as was Haaland’s finishing), but Riccardo Calafiori’s difficulties at this stage were due to Arteta’s instructions to press one-on-one.

This risks direct attacks from wingers, as in City’s case, who can trick defenders, and has the side effect of leaving the formation completely open once the first man is brought down.

Arsenal were so busy marking the ball that when Savinho turned towards Calafiori, the pitch opened up.

Guardiola deserves credit for his line-up selection and his willingness to play in straight lines, as he mentioned before the match.

“We talked a bit about quick transitions and spaces to attack; we didn’t do that last season, so we’ll see,” Guardiola said.

“Today there is a new opportunity to do it better.”

Eventually the game became more predictable and Arsenal’s pressing became less severe. Despite this they managed to turn the game around, scoring two goals, all thanks to their own play in possession.

The quick free-kick that led to Calafiori’s goal was a perfect example of Arteta opening up the game, although the absence of Rodri was equally important in creating space for the left-back to shoot.

Then, after a corner kick from Gabriel Magalhaes scored the second goal, an attack came down the right wing, with Arsenal getting more defenders forward and putting the home side under pressure.

Again, a big surprise, considering the conservatism we have come to expect from Arteta in these types of matches.

Arsenal’s total defense almost stops Man City

The red card changed everything – and the second half was a surreal spectacle.

Arsenal were a caricature of a defensive team, camping out in their own penalty area and mindlessly clearing the ball away.

Until the last minute it was a perfect strategy that managed to surprise City.

In the second half, Arsenal had 12.5 percent of ball possession, had just one shot on goal and had a pass accuracy of just 52 percent.

Yet they came close to success largely because City showed no willingness to play down the wings, instead passing the ball repeatedly in front of the visitors’ 5-4-0 formation.

In reality, the formation was more like a 6-3-0, and at times it became a 7-2-0, but at no point did Manchester City change the angle or try to get to the end line, which would have turned the game around against Arsenal and created space in the midfield.

Instead, Arsenal could have sat back and blocked shot after shot from their centre-backs. City were certainly missing Kevin De Bruyne, but they should have shaken up their own formation dramatically.

Despite this, they managed to equalise just before the end with their 28th shot of the half, the second-highest ever goal in a Premier League half (since 2003/04), behind only Man City’s 34 shots against QPR in the famous ‘Agueroooo’ match that won them their first Premier League trophy.

It wasn’t such a dramatic finale, but it could play an equally important role in determining the winners in May.