Manchester City 1 Arsenal 5: City player ratings as Manchester City gift Arsenal a victory at the Emirates | OneFootball

Manchester City 1 (Erling Haaland 55′)

Arsenal 5 (Martin Odegaard 2′, Thomas Partey 57′, Lewis-Skelly 62′, Kai Havertz 76′, Ethan Nwaneri 93′)

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City shot themselves in the foot as they went down 5-1 to Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s side deserves credit for picking Pep Guardiola’s side off, but in truth, the world champions played into their hands. The news that Ederson would miss the match set the tone for what followed at the Emirates.

First half

The game kicked off and you could feel the buzz of excitement in the crowd. Both teams knew the stakes for today’s match and the Emirates Stadium crowd knew it all too well as the game kicked out. The travelling Manchester City support was in fine voice as the game began.

Arsenal would take the lead 2 minutes in. An error from Manuel Akanji gave away possession on the edge of City’s area and Arsenal pounced. Kai Havertz teed up Odegaard for a tap in. Declan Rice dispossessed Akanji to start the move but the error sits firmly at the feet of Akanji rather than the intensity of Arsenal’s press.

Following Arsenal’s fast start, the game settled into a pattern. Gabriel Martinelli had a goal ruled out for offside two minutes after Odegaard’s opener. But from there, City dominated possession, and Arsenal settled in defensively. But there was a lack of urgency to City’s play, and their only chance in the opening 20 minutes was a shot from range from Omar Marmoush, which went over.

In the 23rd minute, a Josko Gvardiol headed from an Omar Marmoush corner was tipped onto the crossbar by David Raya. The rebound from Raya’s save seemed destined to fall onto the head of Erling Haaland but it hit the crossbar and fell to safety for Arsenal.

Kai Havertz should have made it 2-nil to Arsenal in the 26th minute. Manchester City once again gave away possession in a dangerous area while attempting to play out from the back. Mateo Kovacic was dispossessed in a dangerous area of the pitch but Stefan Ortega’s pass played him into trouble. A simple chance fell Havertz’s way and he fired wide with the goal gaping. But Manchester City were the architects of Arsenal’s chance once again.

A deflected shot from Savinho forced a smart save from David Raya in the 44th minute. A spell of Manchester City pressure saw Matheus Nunes play in a teasing cross from the right-hand side of City’s area. His cross fell to Savinho, but his quick shot was well saved.

The halftime whistle came moments after that and Arsenal would take a 1-nil lead into the break. In truth, Manchester City had played themselves into trouble and that told the story of the first half.

Second half

The second half began similarly to the first. After both teams had spells of possession it would be Manchester City who would equalise through Erling Haaland. A well-worked City move saw Savinho played in. His ball from the right-hand side of the Arsenal box was met by Erling Haaland’s head to make it 1-all.

But Arsenal would restore their lead almost instantly. Phil Foden gave away possession in a dangerous area and a Thomas Partey strike from outside the area went in with the aid of a deflection to make it 2-1 to Arsenal. From there Manchester City capitulated in a display that defied belief from Pep Guardiola’s side.

Arsenal would make it 3-1 in the 62nd minute through Myles Lewis-Skelly. A well-worked move from Mikel Arteta’s side saw the young left-back score a fine goal. Stefan Ortega got a hand to his right-footed strike but he couldn’t prevent it from hitting the back of the net. Pep Guardiola’s side had it all to do following Arsenal’s third.

Kai Havertz would make it 4-1 to Arsenal in the 76th minute. A sweeping Arsenal counter saw Gabriel Martinelli tee up Havertz to make it 4-1. Manchester City’s susceptibility on the counter was again on full display and it tells the tale of Manchester City’s season.

Ethan Nwaneri would make it 5-1 to Arsenal in the 93rd minute with a fine strike. Pep Guardiola’s side were well beaten as all of their weaknesses were ruthlessly exposed.

Summary

The City player ratings reflect Manchester City’s performance. It was poor from Pep Guardiola’s side although Arsenal do deserve credit for ruthlessly putting them to the sword. But every frailty in this Manchester City side was on full display and the City player ratings reflect the nature of the game. The manner of Manchester City’s capitulation is a major concern ahead of a testing month for Pep Guardiola’s side.

City player ratings

Stefan Ortega-3/10: A poor performance from Ortega. He was poor in possession and wasn’t at his best in goal.

Matheus Nunes-4/10: He tried hard again and got forward well. The problem was he didn’t do anything with the possession he had in good areas. He definitely wasn’t Manchester City’s worst player of the evening.

John Stones-6/10: He was his team’s best defender on the night. Although that isn’t saying much.

Manuel Akanji- 2/10: It was Akanji’s error that gave Arsenal the lead in the 2nd minute. It set the tone for his performance over the course of the game.

Josko Gvardiol- 6/10: Like Stones, he did all he good. Did his job in a poor performance from his team.

Mateo Kovacic-4.5/10: He wasn’t City’s worst player but the fact that he isn’t a defensive midfielder cost City on the c,ounter.

Bernardo Silva-4/10: Like Nunes he toiled away as usual but didn’t affect the game as he would’ve liked.

Phil Foden-4/10: If Foden is going to play in midfield, he can’t make the error he did, which gave Arsenal the momentum after Haaland’s equaliser. Not at his best before he was substituted.

Savinho-6/10: Grabbed an assist for Haaland’s equaliser and was probably Manchester City’s biggest attacking threat all game.

Omar Marmoush-5/10: Toiled away up front but couldn’t get into the game. There will be an adjustment period for Marmoush and his teammates to get on the same wavelength.

Erling Haaland-5/10: Grabbed a goal, and if he had the service, he could’ve had a bigger influence on the game.

Substitutes

Kevin De Bruyne-N/A: He came on too late, and there was nothing he could do to affect the result.

James McAtee-N/A: In the same boat as De Bruyne.