David Hytner’s match report has arrived, which means our work is done. Thanks for your company and emails – goodnight.
City reaction: 'They're a much better team than last year'
Bernardo Silva
It was tough. We played against a top, top team: very well organised, very competitive, high rhythm. It could have gone either way to be honest. We started better, we had more possession and control but they were very good as well. They were always dangerous on set-pieces and counters.
It’s tough to play against – when they pressed high they went man to man, and when they were low their wingers played as full-backs in a line of six. It’s never easy to play against teams who defend this well.
At te start of the game I felt they tried to be aggressive and press. When we could get three or four passes together, that’s when their wingers would go back in a line of six. Then they would be patient and not jump in. Two completely different games – they were very well organised and it wasn’t easy to create chances.
Last April they were doing man to man all over the pitch for the whole game. When you do that it’s a bit of a 50/50. Today it wasn’t quite the same. They’re a different team because they’re a young side who now have an extra year of experience. Today they were much better.
We’re not favourites [to win the league] any more. A lot can happen in seven games – is it seven or eight? I think seven. [It’s nine] Oh, nine! That’s better for us. We’re back in it! We need Liverpool or Arsenal to drop points and we need to do our job and win our games.
Arsenal Women were also in action this afternoon. They ended Chelsea’s quadruple hopes with a dramatic victory in the Conti Cup final – but there was a scary incident when Frida Maanum collapsed off the ball. The latest news is that she is stable.
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Arsenal reaction: 'We didn't plan to defend that deep'
Martin Odegaard
We wanted all three points and tried our best. We didn’t do enough for that but we’ll take the point and move on.
Any team in the world would miss this guy [Saliba, who didn’t play in the 4-1 defeat a year ago]. He’s such a complete player and we’re so lucky to have him. I’m glad he’s fit now. It was a brilliant performance.
We had to defend a lot, a bit deeper than we planned. It’s hard when you’ve defended for a while – you get the ball and your legs are heavy – but there were moments when we were dangerous. I felt like we could have won it in the end.
William Saliba
We cannot be satisfied when we draw. It’s okay – we did well and we leave with one point – but we are not satisfied.
City are the best team in the world and playing against them is more tiring mentally. We had to focus for the whole game. We all defended well.
City played 690 passes and had no attempts on target in open play, which is probably the best statistical summary of the game. That and, you know, 0-0.
The remaining fixtures in the title race
Liverpool Sheff Utd (H), Man Utd (A), Crystal Palace (H), Fulham (A), Everton (A), West Ham (A), Spurs (H), Aston Villa (A), Wolves (H)
Arsenal Luton (H), Brighton (A), Aston Villa (H), Wolves (A), Chelsea (H), Spurs (A), Bournemouth (H), Man Utd (A), Everton (H)
Man City Aston Villa (H), Crystal Palace (A), Luton Town (H), Brighton (A), Nottm Forest (A), Wolves (H), Fulham (A), West Ham (H)
The only player to score for City against Arsenal this season is Cole Palmer. That was in the Community Shield, though City may get two more chances in the Champions League semi-final.
Philosophy be damned. That was a triumph of pragmatism for Arsenal, who achieved their main priority – a clean sheet – with few alarms and no apologies for their defensive approach. Gabriel bullied Erling Haaland, William Saliba played in his slippers and Declan Rice and Jorginho put out a number of fires around the edge of the area.
Pep Guardiola is on the field giving Jack Grealish an animated tutorial. None of the City attackers played well, though Rodri was majestic and Rico Lewis played with maturity and personality after coming on as a first-half substitute for Nathan Ake.
Gabriel and Erling Haaland have more words after the final whistle, but eventually they embrace. All the players seem happy enough; they’ve kicked the title race down the road.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 29 | 40 | 67 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 29 | 46 | 65 |
| 3 | Man City | 29 | 35 | 64 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 30 | 20 | 59 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 18 | 56 |
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Full time: Manchester City 0-0 Arsenal
And the winner is… Liverpool.
90+4 min City are trying to summon one last push. They haven’t really managed one first push, though that’s as much down to Arsenal’s defensive excellence as their own performance. The concentration levels required to keep City this quiet for 90 minutes are extraordinary. I’d imagine.
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90+2 min Gary Neville’s player of the match is William Saliba. Hard to arue with that. I might have gone for Rodri, who is a machine, but Saliba has been exemplary. There are few, if any, better centre-backs in the world right now.
90+1 min Haaland goes over in the area after a cross from Grealish. There wasn’t much in it. Gabriel accuses Haaland of diving and gets right in his face. He’s really bullied Haaland at times today.
90 min Haaland returns. There will be five additional minutes of this distressing stinker.
89 min Haaland is still being treated. He’s conscious but he clearly took a fair whack. Julian Alvarez is getting ready just in case.
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88 min We’ve just seeen a replay of that Trossard shot. He looked fractionally offside when Odegaard played the pass so it might not have counted had he scored.
88 min De Bruyne’s corner leads to a clash of heads between Haaland and Saliba. Haaland came off worse, as he has all day.
88 min “The caginess of this match is allowing my mind to wander to headier questions,” says Peter Oh. “For example, do Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish share the same hairdresser?”
Yes, it’s called the mid-nineties.
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87 min At the other end, the tireless Bernardo Silva wins a corner off White.
86 min: Ortega saves from Trossard! Odegaard (I think) slides a fine pass down the inside-left channel to Trossard, who shuffles outside Akanji and hits a rising drive that is beaten away by Ortega. The angle made it a fairly comfortable save in the end.
Trossard did have support, though we haven’t seen a replay so I don’t know how good the other options were.
85 min What the hell happened there? I need to see a replay.
84 min: Chance for Haaland! De Bruyne’s outswinging corner from the right is headed across the face by Gvardiol towards Haaland, who completely misses his kick four yards from goal!
That was bizarre. It wasn’t a complete sitter, because the angle was fairly tight and Raya was on top of him, but it was still a great chance. He completely missed the ball.
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82 min Grealish, who looks bright, twists Martinelli inside out and chips a cross beyond the far post. Doku sees it very late and shins a volley well wide.
81 min “One of the mysteries for me is how Saka is on so much money,” says Andrew Hurley. “He never dominates when the team isn’t on top, and when you take away his penalties, his end product isn’t worth the amount he reportedly receives - add losing the ball 3/4 times in the last ten minutes in and around his own box, and it is pretty perplexing.”
Does that apply across the board or is he just having a relatively quiet season?
80 min After good play from Odegaard, Martinelli has a shot from 18 yards that is blocked by Rodri. He’s been the best player on the field I’d say.
80 min “Did the clocks go forward overnight,” says Ian Sargeant, “or is that just Jurgen Klopp’s beaming smile counteracting sunset?”
79 min David Raya is booked for taking too long over a goalkick. He smiles at the injustice of it all.
78 min: Arsenal substitution Gabriel Martinelli replaces Bukayo Saka, who worked extremely hard as a kind of second right-back.
77 min De Bruyne rampages away from Partey in the inside-left channel, runs 40 yards and hammers a square pass to Doku on the edge of the area. He cuts inside Tomiyasu but slices miles wide with his left foot.
76 min De Bruyne’s big, inswinging corner isn’t held by Raya, who is relieved to see the ball bounce safely in the six-yard box.
75 min Doku’s overhit cross is controlled by Saka, who dithers for a split-second and is robbed by a suddenly ravenous De Bruyne. His low cross is booted away in the six-yard box – it would have been a tap-in had Haaland got across the defender - but City come again and win another corner.
75 min There have been two attempts on target in the whole game, and one of those came off the shoulder of a man who went off injured 50 minutes ago.
72 min: Arsenal substitution Leandro Trossard replaces Gabriel Jesus on the left wing. It’s like for like but also a – that bloody word again - statement of matchwinning intent, because Jesus, like Wayne Rooney back in the day, is much more comfortable playing as a second full-back.
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71 min One interesting thing about Arsenal’s defensive performance, which in a lot of ways has been admirable, is that even if they go on to win this game, it won’t be a statement victory like Old Trafford 1998 and Anfield 2001. You need to dominate for that. I’m sure the distinction will keep them awake all night if they score a 90th-minute winner.
70 min Rodri wins the ball just outside the Arsenal area for the third or fourth time today. Bernardo Silva can’t take advantage but the pressure is slowly building on Arsenal.
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68 min “Interesting mention of George Graham, who built a relentless team but was bought down by financial irregularities,” says Paul Griffin. “Let’s just be glad that’s something you’d never see in the modern game Rob.”
67 min The first yellow card of the game is finally given to Gabriel Jesus for retrieving the ball even though a new one was about to be used? for a City free-kick, then leaving the old ball on the pitch and running away. He laughs at the injustice of it all.
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66 min: Double substitution for Arsenal Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey replace Jakub Kiwior, who had a long night in Cardiff on Tuesday, and Jorginho.
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65 min … which is headed away at the near post. I lost the run of myself a bit when I said it was becoming a proper game; it has reverted to stalemate.
64 min Saka fouls Grealish, the bitten biting. De Bruyne wanders over to take the free-kick…
63 min Rico Lewis carries the ball through midfield, as he’s done a few times since coming on, and finds Grealish on the left. Eventually Haaland’s shot on the turn is smothered at source. City are starting to apply a bit of pressure.
61 min: Double substitution for City Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish replace Phil Foden and Mateo Kovacic. That means Bernardo Silva will move into midfield, with Doku on the right and Grealish on the left.
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61 min De Bruyne’s free-kick is headed away by Havertz. It goes back to De Bruyne, who overhits a cross that goes behind for a goalkick. By his standards he’s had a poor game.
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60 min Rodri, who has been excellent, whistles a left-foot shot from 20 yards that is really well blocked. Then Odegaard is penalised for a challenge on Foden 25 yards from goal. You’ll be surprised to hear he doesn’t concur with Anthony Taylor’s judgement.
59 min This is the top of the table as things stand. Liverpool probably have the least difficult run-in so this would be a great result for them.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 29 | 40 | 67 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 29 | 46 | 65 |
| 3 | Man City | 29 | 35 | 64 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 30 | 20 | 59 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 18 | 56 |
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57 min Foden’s corner brushes the head of White and is retreived by Haaland on the far side. City come again, but their attacking play is still ponderous by their standards. Eventually Rodri clips a pass out to De Bruyne, who is offside. He looks in a foul mood.
56 min “Did the rule regarding getting a yellow for asking the ref to give a card change?” asks Eagle Brosi.
I’m not certain but I think it only applies if you wave an imaginary card, which is nonsense really.
55 min Gabriel seems to be accusing Haaland of a headbutt, although there’s no suggestion there was one. Gabriel has done a great job on Haaland so far – in fact he has bullied him at times.
54 min It’s starting to get niggly. You’d think that would suit City as the home side, but at the moment they seem a bit flat. Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, who demolished Arsenal last season, have been anonymous.
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52 min Jorginho is penalised for a challenge on Lewis, a decision with which both teams disagree. Arsenal didn’t think it was a foul; City wanted a yellow card.
52 min: Chance for Arsenal! Yeah, this is becoming a proper game. Odegaard slides a nice pass into the area for Saka, whose inviting low cross is just missed by Jesus, stretching in front of an open goal.
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51 min Arsenal are showing a bit of intent too, and Odegaard only just overhits an imaginative through ball to Havertz. This won’t end 0-0. You have ma word.
49 min “Interesting reference back to happy George, who I remember particularly well as a Leeds supporter when he led us to glory during his brief tenure,” says Jeremy Boyce. “However hated he was in Leeds, the point he made to Perry Groves was totally in line with the Revie philosophy, ‘If they can’t score, you can’t lose’. But my instinct says that De Bruyne will Lorimer one in at some point, however frustrated he is by Arsenal’s dogged defence. Think Ali and the ‘Phantom Punch’.”
It’s strange that, on Graham’s finest night, a clean sheet wasn’t enough to avoid defeat.
47 min Some good early possession for City. Lewis beats Jorginho with a stylish dragback on the edge of a crowded area, and moments later Kovacic shapes a very nice curler from 25 yards that goes just wide of the far post. Raya had it covered though.
46 min Phil Foden begins the second half.
“I’ve missed a lot of the first half,” says Andrew Hurley, “but are Arsenal playing like the best team in the league, or a team a level below City?”
My instinct is the latter, but it’s a mezzanine level. And they have defended extremely well.
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Statement wins that weren’t
“It really felt like it was Newcastle’s time when they beat Man Utd 5-0 in 1996 but we all know how that turned out,” says Martin Widdicks. “As an aside, I feel like a chump convincing my doubting American in-laws to watch this game. It has just confirmed everyone’s preconceived notions about, ahem, soccer.”
Don’t worry, the second half will make up for it. You have ma word.
“I don’t know if Arsenal managed to soothe my nervousness, but they made a determined effort to bore them to sleep,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Honestly, I had prepared for worse, so I’m not complaining.”
Half-time reading
Never mind the lack of entertainment, I think that’s an excellent 45 minutes for Arsenal. City were visibly frustrated towards the end, Kevin De Bruyne especially, and created nothing despite having around 75 per cent possession. There’s a long way to go, and a team as good as City only need a second to shatter your entire existence, but George Graham will be much the happier manager at half-time.
Half time: Man City 0-0 Arsenal
So that’s what it was like to have a Como season ticket in the mid-1980s.
45 min Two minutes of added time. De Bruyne is penalised for a challenge on Saka and waves his hands in disgust at the referee. He looks frustrated, which is another little tick for Arsenal.
45 min Alexandre has another nomination for statement wins that amounted to nowt: Napoli at Juventus in 2017-18.
44 min Foden’s early shot from 25 yards is blocked by one of the centre-backs, Gabriel I think. Whatever you think of Arsenal’s tactics, they’ve defended superbly. The only save David Raya had to make was from Nathan Ake’s shoulder.
43 min Arsenal win another corner, which feels like an event given their success this season. Rice takes, Rodri heads clear. Those two have been involved in plenty.
42 min Arsenal’s approach is reminiscent of George Graham at Anfield in 1989. They had to win by two goals that night, but the principle was the same: take it deep, quieten the crowd, don’t feed the monster, etc, etc.
This was Graham’s pre-match teamtalk, as remembered by Perry Groves.
If we concede an early goal we’re fucked. What I want to do is go in at half-time at 0-0, then I’ll be happy.
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40 min Akanji’s flat cross is headed across goal and wide by Rodri, who stooped on front of Gabriel near the penalty spot. A twentieth of a chance.
39 min Rice is fortunate not to be booked for a trip on Haaland. Anthony Taylor has clearly decided to delay the first yellow card for as long as possible. City will feel Jesus, Kiwior and Rice should all have been booked.
38 min Gvardiol’s cross is headed well wide by Haaland, fighting with Gabriel at the far post. It wasn’t much of a chance, but it did at least remind us that Haaland is on the field.
37 min “Hey Rob,” says Niall Mullen. “What time does this match kick off?”
36 min Rice plays a one-two with Jesus on the edge of the area and is well tackled by Rodri, then Saka has a shot blocked his teammate Odegaard.
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34 min Arsenal are coming into the game. A mistake from Kovacic allows Odegaard to lead a promisiing break. Eventually Jesus runs across the line of the area, sits Rico Lewis down but then tries to beat him again and eventually his shot is blocked.
34 min Okay, this game needs a goal now. It’s compelling because of who is playing and what it means, but it has also been pretty boring.
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33 min “I’m sure you have better things to point out but is there a reason why Saka and White aren’t taking the balls off the kids and instead getting them from the cones?” wonders Eagle Brosi. “I don’t remember seeing cones with balls on top of them before this game. Did I miss something?”
You must have spent the last week on Mars because that’s all anyone’s been talking about.
31 min: Jesus shoots wide A decent attack from Arsenal. Ben White, who has looked good going forward, clips a flat cross beyond the far post towards Kiwior. He cushions the ball back to Jesus, who wriggles away from Bernardo just inside the area and drags a left-foot shot wide of the far post. It was closeish but no more than that.
28 min City have had 74 per cent possession. The result will determine whether Arsenal’s approach has been inspired or cowardly.
27 min Two fouls in 30 seconds – Gabriel on De Bruyne, then Kiwior on Bernardo – get the crowd going for the first time. Kiwior might have been booked for a cynical block on Bernardo.
26 min: City substitution More injury problems for City. Nathan Ake limps off with what looks like a hamstring injury; Rico Lewis replaces him and will go to right-back, with Manuel Akanji moving into the middle.
25 min Rice crunches Rodri fairly to launch an Arsenal break. Havertz runs onto a return ball from Jesus in the area and accidentally clatters Ortega. It was an honest challenge and there’s no big fuss.
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23 min Arsenal were already 1-0 down at this stage of last year’s game, so maybe their plan is to take it deep. It’s certainly to defend deep, which is understandable given the disdainful ease with which City exploited the high line in that 4-1 victory.
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22 min Successful passes in the final third: City 58-5 Arsenal.
21 min A promising Arsenal break is thwarted by Gvardiol’s excellent challenge on Saka.
20 min Jesus shoves Bernardo Silva over and gets a warning from Anthony Taylor. Arsenal have barely had a kick in the last 10 minutes, although they haven’t looked vulnerable either.
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19 min City continue to dominate possession, with Arsenal happy to sit deep. Depending on your perspective, they’ve been too meek or sensibly pragmatic.
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18 min I’m not saying this game needs a goal. But it would certainly benefit from a goal, because at the moment it’s all mutual respect and hiding behind the jab.
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17 min Foden gives Arsenal their first corner of the match. The camera cuts to the set-piece coach, watching on like a nervous parent. Saka’s inswinger is held with authority by Ortega.
15 min: Chance for City! Gvardiol gives Saka a taste of his own blood-twisting medicine to win another corner for City. De Bruyne clips a dangerous ball into the six-yard box that hits Ake’s shoulder and goes straight into Raya’s hands. Ake saw the ball so late that he mistimed his header; he was only a few yards out so had he connected properly he would surely have scored.
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14 min “All this Liverpool fan can ask for is a hard-fought battle of attrition that ends in a draw, which according to Opta, increases the Reds chances of clinching the title the most,” says Joe Pearson. “Let’s go attrition!”
Go Attrition sounds like a Pavement album title.
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13 min City win the ball in the final third, but De Bruyne’s through pass just evades Haaland. They’re starting to pin Arsenal back, with Bernardo Silva seeing a lot of the ball on the right.
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12 min It’s been a cagey start, with a pretty slow tempo. I’m sure that’ll change soon enough.
10 min A nervous clearance from Raya goes straight to Rodri in the centre circle. He heads it forward to Bernardo, who plays the ball outside for De Bruyne. His cross is too close to Raya.
9 min “Shades of Leicester v Man City in 2016?” wonders Zafar Sobhan. “I know Liverpool are nominally top of the table, but if Arsenal win here today, I think it’s game over. The statement will carry them through to the end.”
Personally I wouldn’t go that far. I know what you mean – Arsenal have a rich history of a) seismic wins in the north west and b) irresistible spring momentum, and victory today would empower them so much. But there have also been statement victories that amounted to bugger all. Arsenal had one of their own at Anfield in February 1973, when John Radford scored that marvellous solo goal.
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7 min White breaks down the right and chips a cross beyond the far post. Akanji gets under the ball, allowing Jesus to pull away, control the ball on the chest and drag a volley just wide. Ortega had it covered I think.
5 min De Bruyne’s corner is half cleared by Jesus. Gvardiol collects, charges down the right like Jurgen Grabowski and stands up a good cross that is headed away.
City have started well.
4 min De Bruyne’s free-kick is headed behind by White for the first corner of the game…
3 min Bernardo Silva slithers between Gabriel Jesus and Kiwior on the right wing and is fouled by Jesus. City enquire about a yellow card, which leads to a few words between Rice and Rodri.
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2 min “The City team has four centre backs, five centre mids and a big lad up top,” says Edan Tal. “Looks like Tony Pulis was onto something at West Brom.”
1 min City warmed up with Gvardiola at centre-back but it’s Ake who’s playing there. Why do teams do that? I’d have thought it would be beneath Pep at least.
1 min Arsenal kick off from right to left as we watch. Here we go here we go here we go here we go this is it.
Here come the players. And here’s a reminder of the teams.
Man City (possible 4-2-3-1) Ortega; Akanji, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland.
Substitutes: Stones, Grealish, Doku, Alvarez, Gomez, Matheus Luiz, Carson, Bobb, Lewis.
Arsenal (possible 4-1-4-1) Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Jorginho; Saka, Odegaard, Rice, Gabriel Jesus; Havertz.
Substitutes: Ramsdale, Partey, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Nketiah, Tomiyasu, Trossard, Vieira, Zinchenko.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
Manchester City are unbeaten in 38 home games. They’ve won the last seven against Arsenal on this ground, scoring 21 goals. An Arsenal victory today would register at least 9.0 on the Overmars Scale.
“It seems today I’m rooting for one team and you’re rooting for another one,” says Yash Gupta. “Purely a coincidence.”
I’m totally fine with whoever wins emoji don’t give an eff anymore emoji.
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Match report: Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Will Unwin was at Anfield to watch Liverpool come from behind against Brighton.
“Good morning from Pittsburgh!” says Eric Peterson. “Beyond my happiness that we have an actual title race this season, I think it’s perfect that we have exactly three contenders. With two, there’s less of a risk-reward to the big head-to-head matchup; yeah, it’s great if you win, but if you draw, that’s fine, it’s as you were. But with three, a game like this forces both teams to play for the win lest they drop points against Liverpool.
“I believe this dynamic was the fuel that made the 1-1 between Man City and Liverpool three weeks ago such an amazing contest. I tend to dread these ballyhooed matchups because of how they can spectacularly fail to live up to expectations. Not too worried about that today!”
I’m not sure I totally agree – I think Arsenal would take a draw with pleasure today – but I do love three-horse races. The ultimate might be the Bundesliga in 1991-92, when even the as-it-stands algorithm had a nervous breakdown. The Premier Leagues of 1998-99, 2001-02 and 2013-14 were terrific as well.
Mikel’s pre-match interview highlights
You want to be in this situation, and now you have to step up. You have to look forward to this kind of game, and go for it. This is who we are. The best way to do it is believe you can do it, and actually do it.
Pep’s pre-match interview highlights
[Does experience help in a game like this?] Experience gives you a 3-0 lead before the game starts, yeah?
We believe who we are, of course. I don’t know what’s going to happen but I will never doubt for one second what the team are capable of.
“Hi Rob,” writes Richard Hirst. “May I be the first of 1,057 people to say that with Jesus and the Archangel Gabriel in their ranks Arsenal must be certainties (dare one say nailed on?) for the victory on Easter Sunday.”
The updated Premier League table
It feels like most of the build-up has focussed on Arsenal rather than City, but it’s a mustn’t-lose game for both sides. By 7pm, City could be four points behind both challengers and in need of favours from elsewhere.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 29 | 40 | 67 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 28 | 46 | 64 |
| 3 | Man City | 28 | 35 | 63 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 30 | 20 | 59 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 18 | 56 |
Full time: Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Liverpool have gone top of the Premier League after a nervy comeback victory over Brighton at Anfield. Mo Salah could have scored five; he only managed one, but it was a beauty. And, more importantly, it was the winner.
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Arsenal are also in action in the Conti Cup final. Xaymaca Awoyungbo has the latest from that one.
Liverpool v Brighton latest
There are 10 minutes remaining at Anfield, where Liverpool are aiming to go top of the league for a few hours at least. If you don’t want to know the score, look away now.
Team news: Kovacic and Jesus start
No huge surprises in either side. City prefer Mateo Kovacic to Julian Alvarez; Arsenal have picked Gabriel Jesus ahead of Leandro Trossard. Jesus could play up front but I suspect he’ll play from the left wing.
John Stones is fit enough for the bench but City are without both Ederson and Kyle Walker. Gabriel Martinelli is fit enough for the Arsenal bench.
Man City (possible 4-2-3-1) Ortega; Akanji, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland.
Substitutes: Stones, Grealish, Doku, Alvarez, Gomez, Matheus Luiz, Carson, Bobb, Lewis.
Arsenal (possible 4-1-4-1) Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Jorginho; Saka, Odegaard, Rice, Gabriel Jesus; Havertz.
Substitutes: Ramsdale, Partey, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Nketiah, Tomiyasu, Trossard, Vieira, Zinchenko.
How City line up today 🩵
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 31, 2024
XI | Ortega, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, De Bruyne (C), Bernardo, Foden, Haaland
SUBS | Carson, Stones, Grealish, Doku, Alvarez, Gomez, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/g9HsxaGaqK
🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 31, 2024
One change from last time out against FC Porto - Jesus replaces Trossard
Let's make it count, Gunners 👊 pic.twitter.com/D41CTze0jS
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Preamble
Arsenal are about to find out how good they really are, in front of 53,000 witnesses*. For the aspiring hegemonists of English football, a trip to the Etihad – especially towards the end of the season – is the ultimate litmus test. It’s even more acute for Arsenal after what happened 11 months ago, when Kevin De Bruyne gave them a chilling lesson in the difference between league leaders and league champions.
It will be a surprise if Arsenal aren’t more competitive this year – they have William Saliba and Declan Rice, and City have a few insecurities of their own. They are without key players in defence, start the game in third place and, almost unthinkably, haven’t beaten a team in the top five this season.
All endings are on the table, from another City muscle-flex to another Arsenal coming-of-age victory in the north west. Don’t rule out a tedious draw either; these games can’t always like up to the hype. But when they do, they give us an experience like no other.
Kick off 4.30pm.
*This line is nicked from David Lacey, my favourite football writer. It’s too good not to use, your honour.
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