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#3 Arsenal players shoot themselves in their foot
In the span of a few minutes, things turned upside down for Arsenal. Granit Xhaka gifted Manchester City a penalty after a VAR review. He and Gabriel Magalhaes were booked for protesting and tampering with the penalty spot respectively. Arsenal conceded and Gabriel was later sent off.
Arsenal looked extremely close to dominating the whole game, but all of a sudden they had to give up possession and their attacking shape. With Gabriel sent off, they scrambled for Rob Holding to come on. They packed the midfield with players who were ready to defend every single attack from Manchester City.
According to Orbinho, Arsenal players committed 11 fouls, receiving five yellows and one red in the process. Some decisions from the referee seemed a little too dubious and harsh. But the home team should have been much more disciplined in a key match like this.
#2 Manchester City's patience was rewarded
Compared to their meeting at the Etihad Stadium in August, the Arsenal side, which turned up today, are a vastly improved team. They had lost 5-0 back then. The strongest possible lineup was named and every player knew what they were supposed to do.
As a result, Manchester City struggled to break down the home team's defense or test Ramsdale in the first 45 minutes. Even when Arsenal were down to 10-men the Gunners did not lose hope and held their defensive shape until the very end.
In injury time, Rodri snatched a lucky winner for his side thanks to a deflection. It was certainly a hard-earned three points for the Premier League leaders. Arsenal will feel that they should have gotten at least a point from this game. The win means Manchester City extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 11 points over Chelsea.
#1 Arsenal cling on to top-four hopes
Despite Arteta's absence, Arsenal put up a strong display at the Emirates Stadium. The players ought to be heartened that they have improved so much since the season began.
The defeat to Manchester City leaves the Gunners with 35 points in 20 games. They will remain fourth regardless of the results from other games. The biggest takeaway would be that the current young and enthusiastic Arsenal squad have huge potential. They appear capable of taking on a top side like Cityzens.
Moving forward, Arsenal will host Liverpool in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final before facing Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup.
