Manchester City travelled to North London to take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium earlier today as they hoped to kick off their title defence with an away victory. The Citizens took the initiative from the get-go and scored an early goal courtesy of Raheem Sterling’s smart finish from just outside the box.
The Mancunians doubled their lead in the 64th minute through Bernardo Silva’s powerful strike and managed to grind out a comfortable 2-0 victory on the day.
Let’s shed some light on how each Manchester City player fared during the contest against the Gunners.
GK: Ederson Santana de Moraes – 4/10
The Brazilian kept a clean sheet but made too many sloppy mistakes which could have cost his side a goal or two. He was bailed out by some awful Arsenal finishing.
RB: Kyle Walker – 8/10
The English speedster had a good game and made some galloping runs down the right channel. He was a constant threat to the Gunners’ defence and did his job well defensively.
CB: John Stones – 8/10
A comfortable day out for the English international at the heart of the City defence. He distributed the ball well and kept a cool head under pressure.
CB: Aymeric Laporte – 8.5/10
He was superb for City and made some ‘Hollywood’ long passes during the game. The centre-back also secured a clean sheet for his team on the day.
LB: Benjamin Mendy – 8/10
He started off a bit quiet but slowly imposed himself into the game. The French left-back got a deserved assist after picking out Bernardo Silva with a clever ball for City’s second goal.
CM: IIkay Gündogan – 7/10
He linked up well in midfield and played some good through balls for Sterling and Mahrez to feed on during the game.
CM: Fernandinho – 7/10
The Brazilian commanded the midfield and won a lot of 50-50 duels to help protect the Citizens’ backline.
RM: Riyad Mahrez – 7/10
The Algerian caused a lot of problems for the Arsenal defenders and was unlucky not to score during the match.
CAM: Bernardo Silva – 9/10
The Portuguese wide man enjoyed playing in a deeper role in midfield and took his chance when it arrived in the second half which sealed the points for the away side.
LM: Raheem Sterling – 8.5/10
The English international found the back of the net with his strike from just outside the box in the first half. He gave City the all-important lead and worked hard for his team to run the channels and stretch the Arsenal defence.
ST: Sergio Agüero – 5/10
A rare poor game for the Argentine frontman. He squandered a great opportunity to seal the points for his team in the second half.
Substitutes
Kevin De Bruyne: 7/10
He came off the bench to add a lot of quality to the Citizens midfield. The Belgian pulled out a magnificent save from Petr Cech in the dying embers of the game.
Gabriel Jesus – 5/10
The Brazilian hardly had a kick in the game after coming off the bench.
Leroy Sane – N/A
The German wonderkid came on to run the clock and help his side see out the win.
