Analysis: How Arsenal came so close to a famous win at Man City

Alex Keble analyses Manchester City and Arsenal's thrilling 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

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The Arsenal players who had collapsed, distraught, onto the turf, looked like they had just lost the title. They know just how big that goal could prove to be.

For neutrals it was the high-drama ending this furious, fiery, and breathless Premier League encounter deserved, and after last season's 0-0 draw appeared to signal the beginning of a new era of chess-match title clashes, it was a match to really kick-start this emerging rivalry.

Arsenal came devastatingly close to a priceless win at the Etihad Stadium. Instead, John Stones’ equaliser in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time forced a three-point swing between the two sides and put Manchester City back on top of the Premier League table.

The tactical story of this match hinged on a Leandro Trossard red card, which transformed a bold Arsenal performance into one of Jose Mourinho-esque retreat.

Arsenal’s assertive first half a strength and weakness

For the first 45 minutes, this was not at all the match we expected to witness.

Drama, controversy, a red card, three goals, and some frantic football were the polar opposite of some pre-match predictions.

The chaos unfolded because both managers decided to play a more assertive attacking game than anticipated.

Pep Guardiola played direct wingers on both flanks in response to the near-success City had with wing-play in the final stretch of the 0-0 back in March. That was an understandable tweak.

Arsenal’s approach was a bigger surprise.

From the outset Arteta’s side pressed aggressively in a man-to-man system, happily rushing out of their base positions to track individuals.

It had its pros and its cons. The tactic led directly to Man City’s opener, but it also indirectly explains how they scored twice.

Watch highlights of Man City 2-2 Arsenal

Savinho’s trickery and pass through to Erling Haaland were sensational (as was Haaland’s finish), but Riccardo Calafiori’s difficulty in that moment resulted from Arteta’s instructions to press man-for-man.

It risks direct wingers like City’s skinning defenders, with the knock-on effect of a wide-open shape once the first man is beaten.

Arsenal’s players were so preoccupied with their marking jobs that once Savinho turned Calafiori, the pitch opened up.

Guardiola, then, deserves credit for his team selection and for his willingness to play in straight lines, something he had hinted at before the match.

“We talked a little bit about quick transitions and attacking spaces; last season we didn’t do that, so we’ll see," Guardiola said.

"Today is a new opportunity to do it better.”

Eventually the match settled into a more predictable pattern and Arsenal’s man-to-man pressing eased off, and yet they managed to turn the game on its head with two goals all about their own urgency in possession.

The quick free-kick that led to Calafiori’s goal was a prime example of Arteta opening up, although it had as much to do with Rodri’s absence creating space for the left-back to shoot.

Then, the build-up to the corner from which Gabriel Magalhaes scored the second, was an attack down the right in which Arsenal poured numbers forward, putting the hosts under pressure.

Again a big surprise, given the conservatism we have come to expect from Arteta in these matches.

Arsenal’s all-out defence almost stunts Man City

The red card changed everything – and the second half was a surreal spectacle.

Arsenal were like a caricature of a defensive team, camping inside their own penalty area and aimlessly hoofing clearances.

And until the last minute, it was the perfect strategy to stump City.

Arsenal held an astonishing 12.5 per cent possession in the second half, had just one shot on goal, and had a pass-completion rate of just 52 per cent.

Yet they came so close to success primarily because Man City had no intention of using the wings, instead recycling the ball over and over again in front of the visitors’ 5-4-0 formation.

It was actually more like a 6-3-0, and even sometimes morphed into a 7-2-0, but at no point did Man City change the angle or look to get to the byline, which would have pulled Arsenal around and created room centrally.

Instead, Arsenal could sit tight and block shot after shot from centre-backs. City missed Kevin De Bruyne, for sure, but equally they ought to have dramatically shaken up their own formation.

Nevertheless, they managed to scramble an equaliser right at the last, scoring with their 28th shot of the half, which is the joint-second highest ever by a side on record (from 2003/04) in a single half of Premier League football, behind Man City’s 34 v QPR in the famous "Agueroooo" match that won them their first Premier League Trophy.

It wasn’t quite as dramatic a finale as that, but come May it might have just as significant a role in deciding the champions.