Arsenal show character in defeat to Manchester City

On Saturday, Arsenal hosted Manchester City at the Emirates. The Gunners were the better side for almost an hour, and should have taken all three points. However, a late collapse courtesy of Gabriel’s sending off saw Pep Guardiola’s side come from behind to seal a 2-1 victory.

Football can sometimes be a cruel sport, and teams do not always get what they deserve. It was one such day for Arsenal on Saturday. In the absence of manager Mikel Arteta, who is isolating after testing positive for COVID-19, first-team coach Albert Stuivenberg took charge of the team.

He oversaw a gallant performance from the Gunners despite returning empty-handed for his efforts.

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Arsenal outplayed Manchester City for large swathes

Arsenal may have lost, but they ran Manchester City very close. The story of the game could’ve been different if both teams had 11 men on the pitch. The first half, in particular, was one of the best outings from the Gunners this season. They went toe-to-toe with the Cityzens, and even outplayed them.

Not many teams can match Manchester City’s intensity and possession of the ball. However, Arsenal did that, and got Guardiola’s side unsettled and gasping for breath. Bukayo Saka’s opening goal came following some beautiful inter-play, with Kieran Tierney setting up the English teenager for the opener.

The Gunners continued to dominate, but were eventually undone in the final half-hour after their players appeared to have lost their heads. Xhaka fouled Bernardo Silva for a penalty; Gabriel Magalhaes was sent off for receiving two yellow cards in two minutes

Playing with a man down against City is never an easy task. So it wasn’t surprising that the Etihad outfit took advantage to turn the game on its head.

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Gunners show signs of better things to come

Despite losing to Manchester City, Arsenal can hold their heads high after a brave and gutsy performance.

The Gunners have often been criticised for throwing in the towel too easily against elite opposition. However, they more than held their own against Guardiola’s side, and made a statement in the process.

"We are very proud because if you look at our process that we’re in with this young team, we want to see a team that can develop, be able to compete with a top team like Man City and in this case, I think we were the dominant team,” Stuivenberg said after the game, as quoted by Arsenal.com.

"We deserved the goal; I think we also deserved the penalty and to score at least one more than we did before half time, that’s the only thing. When you create those chance(s) against a team like this, you have to take them."

Arsenal are well behind the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool. However, their performance on Saturday is evidence that the Gunners could soon return to challenging at the top.