Arsenal successfully held reigning champions, Manchester City to a 0-0 stalement in a crucial English Premier League encounter this Easter Sunday evening, March 31, at the Etihad Stadium.
The scoreline paved the the way for Liverpool to claim the top spot in the week’s Premier League’s tight table.
Mikel Arteta‘s Arsenal, determined to end their twenty years of title drought this year showed their resilience and defensive power throughout the match, securing a valuable one point from the game that keeps them in contention among the top three.
With nine games to go, Arsenal sits second on the table with 65 points, one point behind Liverpool’s 66, who went to the top of the table after routing Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 earlier in the day.
Manchester City slipped to the third position with 64 points.
Although City dominated in ball possession and relentless assault on Arsenal, the Gunners’ steadfast defence frustrated Pep Guardiola‘s men, especially Premier League’s highest scorer Erling Haaland.
This makes it the nine straight matches in which Arsenal has stayed unbeaten.
Gabriel Jesus had the best opportunities for Arsenal but narrowly missed the target with two shots in the first half and failed to connect with a smooth cross from Bukayo Saka.
For City, its closest chance came from Kevin De Bruyne‘s early corner kick, which deflected off Nathan Ake‘s shoulder and found its way into the waiting hands of Arsenal keeper David Raya.
In general, the game was lacklustre and uninspiring by both sides. Moments of brilliance were overshadowed by poor execution making one wonder what happened to some of the world’s best players unable to control the ball.
Nonetheless, the 0-0 draw not only gave Arsenal the one point it needed but has set the stage for an exciting climax to the Premier League title race with nine games to go.
After the match, Guardiola admitted the game didn’t quite go to plan. “We take the point. We tried, we didn’t create much, they didn’t create much,” he said.
“The defence so compact and we cannot regain the balls high pressing because there’s long balls, second balls and they’re really good with Havertz and all the physicality they have.
“It was a tight game, we were who we are. Maybe we miss a little bit in the final third but it isn’t easy.”.
Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta told the press, “We wanted to win but we didn’t, we know the Liverpool result but we need to just carry on. There’s a lot still to play for.”
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