Arsenal 1-2 Manchester City: Cityzens player ratings as they scrape past 10-man Arsenal
Tensions ran high at the Emirates Stadium as Manchester City and Arsenal went tooth and nail against each other. A soft penalty, a red card and a last-gasp winner saw emotions run wild both on and off the field.
Arsenal looked lively and were the better team for the majority of the first half. Their quality on the pitch was rewarded as they took the lead through Bukayo Saka in the 31st minute.
VAR stepped in to add some spice to the action in the 2nd half, awarding a (soft) penalty to Manchester City for Xhaka's shirt pull on Bernardo Silva. Riyad Mahrez stepped up and put the penalty away to make it 1-1 in the 57th minute.
Gabriel talked himself into the referee's book after the penalty and was shown a 2nd yellow moments later for a clumsy challenge on Gabriel Jesus.
Manchester City then got their winner in a bizarre manner as the ball bounced off Ben White and fell for Rodri to tap it in.
Man City snatch victory in the final moments thanks to Rodri's late finish
#ARSMCI https://t.co/hcjqf64i7B
Rodri's celebration sparked a flare among Arsenal fans as cans started flying onto the pitch from the crowd.
The result, however, means that the Cityzens will end New Year's Day with an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
Here are the player ratings for Manchester City from the game.
Ederson 5/10
The Brazilian goalkeeper had fairly little to do in the entire game. His miscommunication with Laporte ended with him being stranded badly and leaving the goal open. A dangling leg in front of Odegaard was also a 50/50 decision which went his way. It's safe to say it was a lucky day for him.
Joao Cancelo 4/10
It was a surprise to see Cancelo playing after what he faced personally just a day ago. He really looked off his game for whatever reason it might be. Martinelli had his number in the entire first half.
Ruben Dias 6/10
Dias missed a golden opportunity to put City in the lead in the first half. However, he also won a lot of aerial duels and made several blocks to keep the Gunners at bay.
Aymeric Laporte 4/10
A dreadful performance in which he might well have ended up scoring an own goal. He lost his man twice, resulting in huge chances for Arsenal.
Nathan Ake 6/10
Had a torrid time against Bukayo Saka but made a brilliant goal-line clearance for which we would have a very different result to the one at hand.
Rodrigo 7/10
RODRI SCORES IN THE 93RD MINUTE!!! https://t.co/s78SwYyL1l
He scored the last-gasp winner for Manchester City but even other than that he had a very good game. Made some very good challenges in his own half and was good on the ball. He also completed 4 out his 5 long balls.
Bernardo Silva 7/10
Not a very creative showing by Bernardo but he was as industrious as ever. He won 9 out of the 11 ground duels he was involved in and won the penalty to bring City level.
🔎 | FOCUS
Bernardo Silva vs Arsenal:
👌 64 touches
🔑 1 key pass
🔭 4/5 acc. long balls
👟 38/47 acc. passes
💨 4/4 succ. dribbles
⚔️ 9/11 duels won
⚖️ 1 penalty won
📈 7.5 SofaScore rating
The catalyst for Manchester City's comeback win at the Emirates today. 👏👏
#ARSMCI https://t.co/PpQYO5USMI
Kevin de Bruyne 6/10
Delivered a very good cross for City's late winner but didn't create much trouble for the Arsenal defense otherwise. An uncharacteristically quiet game for the Belgian.
Riyad Mahrez 5.5/10
Dispatched the penalty with assurance but other than that there was little threat from the Algerian throughout the 90 minutes.
Raheem Sterling 6/10
Failed to create any direct chances other than the ball for Ruben Dias into the box but contributed heavily with his off the ball work. Got into some good areas by getting the better of his counterparts (12/19 duels won) but nothing to show for that.
Raheem Sterling won more duels (12), made more tackles (6) and made more ball recoveries (10) than any other player against Arsenal.
Putting in a serious shift. 🏃♂️ https://t.co/dqg1tLRax4
Gabriel Jesus 6/10
Missed a glancing header which came off Kevin de Bruyne's delivery but looked ineffective out of the right wing position where he has generally played this season. Turned away well from Gabriel which resulted in the red card that turned out to be a game changer.
Substitutes:
Ilkay Gundogan 5/10
Replaced Gabriel Jesus for the last 30 minutes but did not have much to contribute owing to Arsenal's low block.