John Stones Saves Manchester City with Last-Minute Equaliser Against Arsenal
Manchester City snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat in their early-season title clash with Arsenal on Sunday with John Stones netting a 98th-minute equaliser.
Placed first and second in the table in each of the last two seasons, Manchester City vs Arsenal has emerged as one of the defining games in the Premier League in recent times.
The blue touch paper was lit early in this edition as Erling Haaland opened the scoring on nine minutes, netting his 100th goal for Manchester City in the process.
Here are the full player ratings from a manic afternoon at the Etihad Stadium:
Man City vs Arsenal Player Ratings
Manchester City (4-3-3)
Ederson – 5/10 – Could Ederson have been stronger on the second Arsenal goal or was he obstructed? A very quiet second half following Trossard’s red card.
Kyle Walker – 3/10 – Complained he wasn’t allowed to get back into position for the quick free-kick on Arsenal’s first goal after being called over by referee Oliver. Probably had a point but still didn’t cover himself in glory defensively. Lost Gabriel’s run on the second goal.
Ruben Dias – 5/10 – Wasn’t afraid to take on a shot when City dominated around the Arsenal box after the break, but far too slow with the ball.
Manuel Akanji – 5/10 – A little too safe with the ball when Arsenal were down to 10 men. Did nothing to pull the Gunners out of their stubborn shape.
Josko Gvardiol – 6/10 – Forced a decent save from Raya in the second half and defended okay, but didn’t offer enough going forward.
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Arsenal (4-3-3)
David Raya – 8/10 – Perhaps left his left-hand post a little too exposed on Haaland’s goal but more than made up for it with some great saves and high-level concentration throughout the rest of the match. Didn’t deserve to be beaten at the end.
Jurrien Timber – 7/10 – Failed to complete a single pass all game, but put in a phenomenal defensive performance, including four clearances, three tackles, one interception and one recovery.
William Saliba – 6/10 – Poor positioning on Haaland’s goal but made up for it by commanding his defence brilliantly in a pressurised second half. However, he was a little slow to react to the knockdown on Stones’ late equaliser.
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