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Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City
12th August 2018, Premier League
The opening day of the 2018-19 season saw reigning champions City get their title defence off to an excellent start with a commanding 0-2 win over Arsenal at the Emirates. The game sounded like a tricky fixture for Pep Guardiola’s men, but in execution, they made it look anything but.
Playing their first match without Arsene Wenger at the helm since 1996, the Gunners were restricted to just 3 shots on target in a total of 9 attempts, and City also bossed possession, taking a 58% share of the ball.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for Guardiola’s side, cutting into the box past Hector Bellerin and Matteo Guendouzi before rifling a right-footed shot into the net. After coming under criticism during the 2018 World Cup, this was the perfect answer to Sterling’s critics and was an early indicator of the fantastic season he’d enjoy.
It took until 64 minutes for the champions to double their lead; a low cross from Benjamin Mendy was finished excellently by Bernardo Silva, who smashed a left-footed shot into the net past Petr Cech, but it never really felt like Arsenal were capable of getting back into the game.
This was an excellent opening win for City – and a reality check for Arsenal’s then-new boss Unai Emery.
