SICKENE Rodri hails ‘champion person R FOR ARTETA
FOR so long, this looked like going down as the afternoon on which Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal young guns really came of age.
At 1-0 and even 1-1 they were the better side, if not in terms of possession then certainly in terms of chances created, with exceptional performances all over the park.
On either flank, Bukayo Saka (right) and Gabriel Martinelli had Nathan Ake and Joao Cancelo on toast for large parts of the game. Martin Odegaard
was magnificent on and off the ball and, behind him, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka were just as good.
Ultimately, though, all that good work, all the Gunners’ hard graft, and all that promise, was in vain.
Rodri popped up in
Arsenal’s box deep into stoppage-time to secure a victory for
City that continued what is becoming a procession towards another Premier League title.
That’s 11 wins on the spin in the top flight since the surprise defeat by Crystal Palace in
October. And while Pep Guardiola’s men weren’t at their best here, they delivered the goods to remind Arsenal that pretty football is all well and good – but results are all that really matter.
This was, in fairness to Arsenal, a game of very fine margins.
Referee Stuart Attwell could have awarded a good penalty shout to Odegaard when he appeared to be fouled by goalkeeper Ederson in the first half.
He could have denied City a soft one when Granit Xhaka grabbed a bit of Bernardo Silva’s shirt.
And had Martinelli not then missed an open goal to make it 2-1 midway through the second half, there’s every chance the Gunners would have ended City’s run here.
Aymeric Laporte’s header looped over Ederson towards his own goal but it was cleared off the line by
Ake. And when the loose ball fell to Martinelli, he somehow struck the outside of a post with the goal at his mercy.
Had that gone in, Attwell would have taken both teams back to the centre-circle for the
restart. Instead, moments later, he was sending off Gabriel for a silly second booking, 78 seconds after the Arsenal defender had his name taken for dissent.
That followed scuffing of the penalty spot, from which Riyad
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hrez levelled Saka’s first-half
pt-in opener. The penalty s contentious as well, and ld have gone either way.
did, in fact. Attwell ruled t that Xhaka had NOT ught down Silva – but then VAR Jarred Gillett ordered him over to his monitor and the referee saw fit to change his mind.
It was soft and Arsenal were fuming.
But in the final analysis Xhaka had given the officials the chance to hand City their spot-kick.
Those two moments would prove costly for Arsenal, and when Rodri scored four minutes into the six added, City’s juggernaut rolled on. Rodri (left) said: “This kind of game you have two or three in the season.
“Arsenal are an unbelievable team. The way they go with Mikel is huge, massive. We know also they rested more than us.
“Fortunately we saw our champion personality. We were always thinking it was possible.”
Gunners boss Arteta was at home after testing positive for Covid. It was left to his assistant Albert Stuivenberg to express Arsenal’s frustration.
He said: “Confusing is the right word. We are looking for consistency here.
“The Odegaard moment is a clear penalty. If there is any consistency you would say, ‘Bring the referee to check’. That didn’t happen. With the City penalty it did happen. I thought it was soft but OK, it happened.
“We took the game to them again because we had the opportunity to score with Martinelli, but it changed with the red card.”
Stuivenberg was upset with defender Gabriel for getting sent off on 59 minutes, and added: “He made a remark to the referee for the first booking.
“Just a normal comment and he got a yellow card. But then if you have one yellow you must control your emotions better.
“It is not a dangerous situation [when Gabriel fouled for a second yellow] so you cannot take the risk. It’s a moment that young players have to learn.”