John Stones explains how he channelled Arsenal ‘frustration’ into Manchester City equaliser | OneFootball

Manchester City’s John Stones has explained how he channelled frustration going into the Arsenal clash to score a last-gasp equaliser on Sunday afternoon.

The Premier League champions secured a point against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, extending their unbeaten start to the 2024/25 season into a sixth matchweek when they take on Newcastle United next Saturday.

The match began brightly for Manchester City, with Erling Haaland finding the back of the net just nine minutes in to score his 100th goal for the club, and his 10th strike of the campaign so far.

However, Pep Guardiola’s side faced a setback of their own when Rodri was forced off due to injury mid-way through the half, following a collision with Thomas Partey inside the Arsenal penalty area.

The Gunners quickly capitalised as Riccardo Calafiori equalised just moments later. The goal followed a controversial decision by referee Michael Oliver, who called over City captain Kyle Walker, allowing Arsenal to take a quick free-kick before the defender could get in position.

Just before the half-time interval, Gabriel Magalhaes gave Arsenal the lead, but the Gunners were reduced to 10-men when Leandro Trossard received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away in injury time.

Mikel Arteta’s team switched to a back-five in an attempt to hold on to the result, but their efforts were undone when John Stones scored a last-minute equaliser, resulting in a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

Stones, who has only started one game so far for Manchester City this term, admitted after the full-time whistle that he was “frustrated” going into the game having been named on the substitutes bench by Pep Guardiola.

However, the English defender explained that he was able to channel that frustration before he came on to score the late equaliser, and that it is something Pep Guardiola has instilled in this Manchester City squad.

“Obviously frustrated that you don’t get to start in these big games, and before the game I tried to channel it and have a positive attitude for if needed and if I came on,” Stones told Sky Sports.

“I think over the years we’ve learned as a team to stick together no matter who is playing, and to always be ready. I came on and tried to be inside the box for more crosses, and one dropped to me, and I put it in the back of the net thankfully.”

Stones is likely to be granted plenty more opportunities for Manchester City in the coming matches with fixtures expected to stretch the demands of Pep Guardiola’s squad across all competitions.