Manchester City welcomed Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium earlier tonight as they looked to earn a good result at home. The Mancunian side made a decent start to the game and got their noses ahead in the seventh minute when Kevin De Bruyne found the back of the net. John Stones doubled Man City’s advantage with a good header in the first half injury-time as Pep Guardiola’s men went into the half-time break 2-0 up on the scoreline.
De Bruyne put the match to bed when he scored again in the 54th minute. Rob Holding got a goal back for Arsenal in the 86th minute. However, Erling Haaland got his name on the scoresheet in injury time as Man City secured an impressive 4-1 win in front of their home fans.
Let’s take a look at how each Manchester City player performed during the match against the Gunners.
GK: Ederson – 6/10
The Brazilian keeper made just one solid save at the back but couldn’t do much about Holding’s finish late in the game.
RB: Kyle Walker – 7/10
He managed to neutralise the threat of Gabriel Martinelli but didn’t offer much going forward.
CB: John Stones – 7.5/10
Stones got stuck in with a couple of solid tackles and scored in the dying embers of the first half with a good header.
CB: Ruben Dias – 6.5/10
He made some important contributions on the defensive end of the field but won’t be pleased about conceding a late goal.
LB: Manuel Akanji – 7/10
Akanji was a positive influence on both ends of the field.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne – 9.5/10
The Belgian sensation scored two fine goals and even bagged an assist. Guardiola will be over the moon with his performance tonight.
CM: Rodri – 7/10
Rodri offered decent protection for his teammates at the back but struggled to influence the game in the opponent’s half.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 7/10
The German earned the ball back twice and was good on the ball.
RW: Bernardo Silva – 7/10
Silva worked hard at both ends of the field but there was no goal for him tonight.
ST: Erling Haaland – 9.5/10
The Norway international was excellent with his link-up play in the final third. He ended the game with a goal and an assist to his name.
LW: Jack Grealish – 7/10
Grealish caused a lot of headaches for the opposition defenders but failed to get his name on the scoresheet.
Substitutes:
RW: Riyad Mahrez – 6/10
He offered very little after coming on as a substitute.
ST: Julian Alvarez – 6/10
Alvarez didn’t get a sniff at goal.
LW: Phil Foden – N/A
He came off the bench and picked up an assist for setting up Haaland’s goal.
