Manchester City and Arsenal failed to score at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Managers Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta saw that both teams had chances, but they simply lacked sharpness in front of goal: 0-0. The division of points makes Liverpool, who defeated Brighton & Hove Albion (2-1) earlier in the day, the big winner of the weekend. The Reds lead the Premier League with 67 points, followed by Arsenal (65) and Manchester City (64).

On the Manchester City side, Guardiola made two changes compared to the FA Cup victory over Newcastle United (2-0). Kyle Walker was replaced by Nathan Aké, while Kevin De Bruyne relieved compatriot Jérémy Doku. At Arsenal, manager Mikel Arteta made two changes compared to the victory over Brentford (2-1). David Raya was preferred to Aaron Ramsdale, while Gabriel Jesus started in favor of Leandro Trossard.

Manchester City was the dominant team in the opening phase, in which Erling Braut Haaland, among others, just missed a header. Arsenal also created danger themselves, although they needed the help of Manuel Akanji. The Swiss dived under the ball and saw Gabriel Jesus do far too little with his volley.

After fifteen minutes of play, Aké had the biggest chance of the match. The Dutch international got the ball on his head from a corner kick, but did very little with it. Aké's lackluster effort was turned around by Raya, who barely seemed to realize that he was Arsenal's saving angel.

Halfway through the first half, Aké suddenly sat down. It soon became clear that the Dutchman could not continue and he was relieved by Rico Lewis, causing Akanji to move to the center. Manchester City's new defense was shocked after half an hour when Gabriel Jesus shot just wide after a good cutting movement. The Brazilian had another chance after a dramatic pass from Mateo Kovacic, but waited too long and got stuck.

The first danger after the break came from Kovacic's foot. The Croat saw some space in front of him and decided to shoot from about twenty meters. Certainly not a bad thought, but his attempt flew a meter wide of Stefan Ortega's goal. At the other end, Manchester City got away well, when Gabriel Jesus was a toe-length short of sliding in a cross at the far post.

Arsenal defended excellently and ensured that the normally dominant Manchester City could not break much of a ball. Guardiola brought two fresh attacking forces with Doku and Jack Grealish; Arteta responded with the arrivals of Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu. The substitutions did not change the game pattern much. Manchester City was the dominant team, but was bitten the Gunners.

Manchester City took more risks as the final whistle approached. It seemed like a great opportunity for Haaland, who, however, did not seem to take Raya's distracting movements into account and therefore forgot to shoot. Manchester City's risks created some space for Arsenal and after a nice pass from Martin Ødegaard, Trossard seemed to be on his way to the 0-1, if not for Ortega's save on the Belgian's shot. It turned out to be the last serious chance of the match.

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