Sunday, 22nd of September, 2024 could have been the day Manchester City potentially lost their hold on the Premier League title they had won four times in a row.
They faced Arsenal, who had pushed them to the brink in the last two out of four seasons where they successfully defended their Premier League title, and were pushed to the brink once again. The Gunners suffered a questionable red card but managed to come back from a goal down to go ahead.
Erling Haaland put the defending champions ahead in the ninth minute of the game for his 10th goal in five games before Riccardo Calafiori, with his first Arsenal goal, equalised and Gabriel Magalhães headed in the Gunners’ second.
It took a 98th-minute strike from John Stones, who broke his 17-month Etihad duck to salvage a point for the champions, who went back to the top of the table as game week 5 of the 2024/25 Premier League season came to a close.
Arsenal adopted an ultra-defensive strategy following Leandro Trossard’s sending off which kept Man City at bay for the duration of the second half. However, the defending champions kept at it until the 98th minute when Stones salvaged a point for them.
Pep Guardiola reflected on what was a very tough game and praised his side for the fight they showed to come back and earn a point against the team coached by his former assistant.
“Many, many things happened, they delayed the game, we behaved really well and still have this passion inside to fight the contender to steal our Premier League,” Guardiola said. “Still we are there. We started well, scored a fantastic goal and then conceded.
“We know that Arsenal are really quick with [Gabriel] Martinelli and [Bukayo] Saka. [Riccardo] Calafiori makes an exceptional goal, the second goal we didn’t defend well, give credit to them.”
Speaking on Gabriel’s goal which was checked for a foul by VAR the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona manager added: “It happens to all the clubs, not just City. They block a lot of players; always they block.
“Gabriel is so strong in that position. It happens every game and they are able to do it.
“After, 10 against 11 is [a] different [game]. They defended so deep and we can cross but it’s not easy with [Ben] White, Gabriel, [William] Saliba. They defend really good.
“We were so smart to not make quick actions and not concede fouls. Long balls, crosses, don’t touch them. That is good because the game continues. We could have scored before, we scored at the end. It’s a good point for us.”
