Second place Arsenal travelled to the Etihad Stadium to face third place Manchester Metropolis on Sunday afternoon.

For the entire attacking stars on show it was truly the sensible defenders that have been the celebrities of the present. Particularly Arsenal’s central defenders.

Throughout the complete match, Gabriel and William Saliba demonstrated a defensive masterclass, reaffirming their effectiveness as a robust defensive duo. Their efficiency noticed them hold celebrity Erling Haaland extraordinarily quiet.

The Norwegian worldwide worldwide did not register a single shot on course. Moreover, he completed the match with a 64% go completion charge.

Following the match, Micah Richards confessed on Sky Sports activities: “I used to be disillusioned with Man Metropolis within the closing third. They did numerous nice work till they obtained into the ultimate third. Haaland made loads of totally different runs however the link-up play was non-existent.

“Haaland wanted to do extra. Saliba and Gabriel had him of their pockets.”

Manchester Metropolis and Arsenal play out to a draw

Regardless of all of the hype main as much as the extremely anticipated showdown on the Etihad Stadium, the match in the end turned out to be reasonably uneventful.

The sport’s greatest likelihood got here within the first half when Nathan Ake headed narrowly at Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya from a nook. Nonetheless, Ake’s departure resulting from a calf damage compounded Metropolis’s defensive woes. They have been with out Ederson, John Stones and Kyle Walker.

Regardless of Metropolis’s setbacks, Arsenal failed to bother stand-in goalkeeper Stefan Ortega considerably.

Within the dying moments, substitute Leandro Trossard supplied a late risk from an angle, following missed alternatives from Metropolis’s alternative Jeremy Doku.

The draw sees Liverpool sustaining a two-point lead over the Gunners and a three-point lead over the defending champions and final season’s treble winners Manchester Metropolis.