Arsenal left the Etihad Stadium with a point for the second-straight season after going down to 10 men following a controversial refereeing decision.
The game started with both sides setting an intense tone. Kai Havertz and Erling Haaland could've been booked for strong challenges, but Michael Oliver chose not to caution either player.
Haaland put the hosts up 1–0 inside 10 minutes after Savinho played the striker in behind Gabriel and William Saliba. The game came to a screeching halt in the 17th minute when a coming together between Thomas Partey and Rodri resulted in the Manchester City midfielder going to ground in pain. The Euro 2024 winner was unable to continue and Mateo Kovačić was brought on.
Riccardo Calafiori endeared himself to Arsenal fans in his first start of the season scoring a left-footed effort to even the score. Whether he meant it or not, it lifted Arsenal's spirit after going down early.
The rest of the first half was tightly contested with Arsenal growing in confidence. It took until the first of six added minutes for Arsenal to take the lead. Gabriel once again on set pieces beat Kyle Walker to fire the Gunners in front.
Just before going in for halftime, Leandro Trossard picked up a second yellow card for kicking the ball the away delaying a restart. He's the second Arsenal player to suffer this fate after Declan Rice was sent off against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Straight out of the tunnel, Arteta changed his setup bringing on Benjamin White for Bukayo Saka. City poked and prodded all second half and it looked like Arsenal would escape with three points. A quick corner from Jack Grealish, a deflection in the box lead to John Stones finding the equalizer off the bench in the dying minutes of the game.
The points were shared for the second straight season at the Etihad Stadium between two Premier League title favorites.
