By Sinjini Mitra
Arsenal snatched a dramatic 2-2 draw against Manchester City on Sunday, 21st September 2025, as the substitute player stuck deep into stoppage time to deny the coach, Pep Guardiola’s side, one of the rarest wins of his duration.
Manchester, known for its ball-dominant style approach, has shocked its fandom by adopting an ultra-defensive 5-4-1 formation, passing its control to Arsenal for most of the match. According to Opta, their average 32.8% possession was the lowest by any Guardiola side in a top-flight match. Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice stated that “We probably haven’t dominated a game against Manchester City as we did today. No one has; I have never seen them do that.” (Quoted by The Hindu). Back in his prolific form, Erling Haaland netted his 13th goal in his appearance for the club and the country this season by sprinting upfield and collecting a pass from Tijjani Reijnders to slot home a finish in the ninth minute.
The Norwegian striker very skilfully slotted past the player David Raya to give an early lead to Manchester City. Guardiola doubled down on its defence, readily introducing more support at the back to derail Arsenal during the game.
But at the third minute of the added time, Eberechi Eze tossed a ball over the city’s packed defence. Martinelli, who has become something of a supersub for the player Mikel Arteta, latched onto it and hoisted Gianluigi Donnarumma to spark wild celebrations at the Emirates Stadium.
The result of it leaves Liverpool, the defending champion, five points clear at the top after the top five matches. Arsenal sits second on the goal difference ahead of Tottenham and Bournemouth, while the Manchester team lags with points behind. Arteta stated that “They win every match; it’s going to be a very difficult match, but if we play at this level, like we did against Manchester City, we will be fine.” (Quoted by The Hindu).
Guardiola stood by his tactical shift, pointing to the fatigue after a midweek Champions League to defeat Napoli. Guardiola stated that “I would prefer to not do it, but when the opponent is better and we can use the counterattack” (Quoted by The Hindu)
Aston Villa ended its goal drought but was held 1-1 by the 10-man Sunderland, while Newcastle’s rotated lineup managed only a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.