In a chaotic 2-2 draw at the Etihad, Arsenal certainly played their part in a match that will live long in the memory, for several reasons.
Riccardo Calafiori made his first Arsenal start, Mikel Arteta decided it was time to deploy the Italian given Ben White had a small issue.
Calafiori then delivered his first goal in red too – a remarkable strike which came against the run of play, dragging the Gunners up from their early slump.
Of course, Leandro Trossard’s red card will also be a huge talking point, even if many will conclude that the Belgian was foolish to give Michael Oliver a decision to make.
Arsenal were in the ascendancy at the time, and perhaps one or two words may have been said to Trossard in the dressing room, who should have known better.
Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz failed to complete a single pass vs Man City
Amid all of the talking points from the game, an incredible statistic concerning both Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz emerged after full-time at the Etihad.
Havertz was effectively playing as second right full-back in the second half, only playing 10 metres or so ahead of Timber at the best of times.
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And Arsenal’s defensive display, which often involved tackling, tracking your man, and then booting it long, left the duo in an unwanted club.
According to Opta Joe who shared the update on X, neither Timber (six) nor Havertz (five) completed any of their passes against Man City on Sunday.
The duo become the first outfield players on record, since the 2003/04 season, to play 89 minutes or more and not successfully pass to a teammate.
Of course, neither played poorly in any respect, but the record is illuminating to the game plan Arsenal had to deploy with 10-men.
Gabriel Martinelli completely turned his Arsenal form around
In truth, it shouldn’t be a concern at all that Timber and Havertz failed to find a teammate, they both defended like warriors for their side.
And speaking of excellent performances, Gabriel Martinelli was brilliant for Arsenal.
The Brazilian has always defended superbly for the Gunners, even when out of form, but against Man City, Martinelli looked back to his best offensively at times.
Before the red card, it’s fair to say that the Arsenal winger had Kyle Walker ‘on toast’, delivering a performance similar to the one Nico Williams did for Spain in the Euros final.
It’s no surprise that Martinelli then had to slightly curtail those efforts – he needed to play the situation at hand.
But it certainly bodes well that the Brazilian looked confident again, a superb talent ready to get back to his best.
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