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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Jamie Jackson at the Etihad Stadium

Manchester City 0-0 Arsenal: Premier League player ratings

Kevin De Bruyne probing at Arsenal.
Kevin De Bruyne probing at Arsenal during the goalless draw at the Etihad. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Manchester City

Stefan Ortega Ederson’s stand-in was authoritative and cool enough to pass out and severely underworked until stop at end. 6

Manuel Akanji City’s paciest defender had no use for the afterburners and was moved inside to central defence when Nathan Aké limped off. 6

Rúben Dias This was a day for concentration but not too much work for the regal Portuguese centre-back. 6

Nathan Aké Nearly scored from a corner then the afternoon ended 27 disappointing minutes in due to injury. 6

Josko Gvardiol Impressive roving forward, good control and touch. 7

Rodri Second-half shot blocked, probed with sweeping passes and deft layoffs as he – and therefore City – dominated possession. 6

Mateo Kovacic Wowed the home crowd with a near miss following the break and was then replaced. 6

Bernardo Silva Floated infield to make an extra midfielder or dipped a shoulder along the right but disappointed. 5

Kevin De Bruyne Became better as contest aged. Instep flicked balls, free-kicks and corners were all his as the Belgian kept probing for the breakthrough. 7

Phil Foden Barely visible until the unloading of a 20-yard attempt; he was taken off after the break. 5

Erling Haaland With service a rarity he dropped off to knit play and missed a gilded late chance with an airshot. 5

Substitutes: Rico Lewis (for Aké 27) Surprisingly little used this season, the youngster slotted in comfortably; 6; Jack Grealish (for Kovacic 61) 7; Jérémy Doku (for Foden 61) 7

Arsenal

David Raya Survived nervy drop on 74 minutes. Slowing down the game was a managerial order for which he was given a yellow card. 5

Ben White The full-back was hardly given a test by Foden along his corridor so his job was adequately done. 6

William Saliba He and White had to be alert on the right of the Gunners’ defence yet remained intact. 6

Gabriel Was delighted at how anonymous Haaland was until a shove from the No 9 nearly presaged a headed goal. 6

Jakub Kiwior The 24-year-old made mistakes to spoil Arsenal’s buildup and was given a breather by his manager. 6

Declan Rice Demanded the ball under pressure to relieve teammates and surged upfield to try and create. 7

Jorginho 6 As Robin to Rice’s Batman, he allowed the former to rove – if he could, as Arsenal were content to counter.

Martin Ødegaard Often watched City’s midfield circumvent him, his defence-splitter to Bukayo Saka deserved a goal. 7

Bukayo Saka After the odd corner swung in from the right, the winger’s cross for Jesus illustrated quality. 6

Gabriel Jesus Chest down and shot missed, as did later rolled effort. Booked in an uneventful outing. Substituted. 5

Kai Havertz Scant service until a run onto Ødegaard’s through ball that ended with a clatter into Ortega. 6

Substitutes: Takehiro Tomiyasu (for Kiwior 66) 6; Thomas Partey (for Jorginho 66) 6; Leandro Trossard (for Jesus 72); Gabriel Martinelli (for Saka 78) 6

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