Thanks to last season’s extremely boring games between Arsenal and Manchester City, it’s fair to say that we weren’t expecting much from the clash on Sunday evening.
So to say the thrilling 2-2 draw, in which John Stones scored a 98th-minute equaliser for City, exceeded expectations would be quite the understatement.
But what did we learn from the game? Did it give us an indication of who will win the 2024/25 Premier League title?
Here’s our thoughts.
Despite the huge stakes attached to their clashes last season, games between Arsenal and Manchester City were actually astonishing dull last season.
And having watched the two sides pass the ball aimlessly from side-to-side against one another for 180 minutes in 2023/24, many were expecting similar on Sunday.
Thankfully, things felt a bit different this past weekend.
For the first time since Arsenal began to challenge Man City for the Premier League title, a game between the sides had a genuinely big fight feel about it with plenty of needle, plenty of argy-bargy and plenty of drama.
The 2-2 draw at the Etihad was reminiscent of a classic Premier League clash between Man Utd and Arsenal in the early 2000s. And that’s exactly what we want from these Super Sunday games.
In 2022/23, Man City won the Premier League ahead of Arsenal by five points.
In 2023/24, Man City won the Premier League ahead of Arsenal by just two points.
And in 2024/25, it’s clear once again that every single point will matter in the title race.
That’s why Leandro Trossard’s moment of madness at the end of the first half, which in many ways cost Arsenal two points at the Etihad Stadium, could have gigantic consequences later in the season for his side.
It’s a moment that Gunners fans may have to look back on with regret in the spring.
Although Man City coped fairly well without Rodri at the start of the season, there’s no doubting the fact that they are a much, much, much better team when the midfielder is in the lineup.
The stats prove that to be fact too, with City winning 10% more games and losing 14% fewer games when Rodri is playing. The Citizens haven’t actually lost a game that the Ballon d’Or candidate has featured in since early 2023.
So with those figures in mind, it should come as no surprise that when Rodri limped off with a suspected knee injury in the first half of Sunday’s game, City fans’ hearts sank.
How long Rodri will be out of action with the latest injury may determine the fate of the Premier League title.
