Arsenal's demonic defending halts City's winning streak at the Etihad

Manchester City vs Arsenal recap: Haaland's 100th goal, Rodri's injury, and late drama as Arsenal, reduced to ten men, hold off City in a thriller.

Ricardo Calafiori celebrates after drawing Arsenal level in their juggernaut encounter against Manchester City on Sunday at the Etihad. It ended 2-2. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

“When you play against a team like Manchester City for close to an hour with ten men, you must be proud of how well we defended and left everything on the pitch.” Mikel Arteta.

The game of the weekend across all leagues in Europe must be the one at the Etihad between Manchester City and Arsenal, the top two teams in the Premier League for the past two seasons, and clearly, after what we saw on Sunday, we can tell that the title will still sit within the two sides.

Despite starting without Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri made his first league start of the season, but it didn't last long as the Spaniard hobbled off after just 21 minutes due to what appeared to be a hamstring issue.

Erling Haaland scored his 100^th goal for Manchester City as early as the 9^th minute, setting a tone for what would be a tough game for the visitors; the Norwegian becomes the fastest ever to 100 goals in the league, doing it in just 105 games.

Martin Odegaard was absent from the Gunners' trip to the Etihad, but Declan Rice, suspended against Tottenham, was fully available. A midfield trio of Rice, Thomas Partey, and Leandro Trossard sat behind Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bukayo Saka.

Shortly after Rodri's substitution, Arsenal equalized with a goal from Ricardo Calafiori, an Italian on his debut, after Martinelli set him up. The hosts expressed dissatisfaction to the referee about Arsenal's swift start, despite the referee summoning Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka for a discussion, but the goal remained valid.

Shortly after, Arsenal took the lead when Gabriel Maghalaes scored a header, a move that has now become a regular occurrence in their team. It also proved to be Saka's fifth straight goal contribution, making him the first Premier League player to assist in five straight games after Thierry Henry.

Similar to the previous international break, Leandro Trossard's dismissal for delaying the restart with seconds left in the first half reduced Arsenal to ten men, forcing the Gunners to defend their lead for the remainder of the match.

Mikel Arteta surprised many by yanking off Saka at halftime, sending on Ben White, who had started on the bench to strengthen the defence. Manchester City threw everything at Arsenal, camping at the edge of the box, but the Gunners stood firm.

A corner kick that was going to be the last action of the game found Matteo Kovacic in the Arsenal area; his effort was blocked on the line, but substitute John Stones found the back of the Arsenal net, sending the champions into wild celebrations as they returned to the top of the log.