Arsenal’s recent 2-2 draw away at title rivals Manchester City was one of the great “backs to the wall” performances in Premier League history. Despite falling behind at the Etihad, courtesy of Erling Haaland’s early opener, the Gunners rallied throughout the latter stages of the first half. Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori rattled home a 22nd-minute equaliser in his full debut, before fellow defender Gabriel Magalhães gave the visitors a shock lead on the stroke of halftime.
Heartbroken Gunners
Before Arsenal could head down the tunnel happy with their work, however, Leandro Trossard picked up a second yellow card for halting a quickly taken freekick in similar scenes to the ones that saw Declan Rice dismissed earlier in the campaign. That left last season’s runners-up faced with the unenviable task of keeping the rampant champions at bay on home turf for 45 full minutes. But they very nearly did it.
With dark arts aplenty on display, Arsenal made it to injury time with their 2-1 lead intact, having just a handful of touches in the opposition half. However, heartbreak was just around the corner. City defender John Stones scrambled home a last-gasp equaliser after David Raya saved from Mateo Kovacic, allowing the hosts a share of the spoils and denying the visitors a famous victory.
It was undeniably impressive, though. The draw means that the latest Premier League online betting odds make the Blues an even money favourite to secure their fifth title this season. The Gunners, meanwhile, are a +185 contender, and they will be buoyed by their defensive heroics, even though they didn’t walk away with all three points. Their performance will go down in history as perhaps the finest defensive performance the Premier League has ever seen, following in the footsteps of some of these classics…
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Author : SoccerNews
Publish date : 2024-09-27 12:57:00
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