Ederson: Put himself in danger by being booked for complaining, and if he will feel hard done by for the second goal he could have been stronger. 5
Walker: Set Savinho loose for the opening goal and tested Raya a few times but defensively he made too many costly mistakes. Fortunate to stay on with Lewis watching from the bench. 4
Akanji: Another accomplished performance from a man who now feels like City's best defender, calm at the back amid chaos. 7
Dias: Saw plenty of the ball as City dominated against 10-man Arsenal and always willing. Booked for dissent. 6
Gvardiol: Pushed up well into midfield as an extra man and was unlucky not to to beat Raya. Saka didn't get much off him all afternoon. 7
Rodri: Havertz left one in on him in the opening seconds and then he jarred his knee after a coming-together with Partey. 6
Silva: Typically clever and committed, always looking to spark the chance and turn the lost cause into a golden opportunity. 7
Gundogan: Missed a good chance early on and then hit the bar when City were on top. Couldn't link up much with Haaland. 6
Savinho: Brilliant to set up Haaland and was so tricky that several Arsenal players were booked trying to stop him. Not as much joy against 10 men. 7
Doku: His brightest five minutes were the five before he was taken off for Foden. Struggled to impose himself against Timber. 6
Haaland: Excellent for the goal and did his best with the little space he was given after that. 7
Substitutes
Kovacic (for Rodri, 21): More comfortable in the second half when City had the ball than he was trying to contain Arsenal, but his clumsiness cost momentum in the later stages. 6
Foden (for Doku, 69): Could not find his shooting boots 6
Stones (for Walker, 78) Only went and bagged the equaliser. 7
Grealish (for Savinho, 78) Helped make the equaliser 7
GK: Ederson - 4/10 - Could have been more aggressive when the corner came right into the six-yard box for the Gabriel header, but ended up getting blocked in. Conceded more goals than saves.
CB: Ruben Dias - 4/10 - Camped in Arsenal's half like an extra midfielder in the second half, without seeming to know what to do with the ball. The visitors were happy to let him have it because his final ball and shooting skills were poor to say the least.
CB: Manuel Akanji - 6/10 - Stopped having to defend by half-time and kept pushing forward.
LB: Josko Gvardiol - 7/10 - His efforts were some of the best that City had in their seige of the Arsenal goal, forcing good saves from Raya.
CM: Rodri - N/A - Seemed to make the most of Havertz bumping him but couldn't continue after appearing to jar his knee just under 20 minutes in.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan - 6/10 - Lashed at a really good early chance when he'd done the hard part initially. Unlucky to strike a post not long after.
RM: Savinho - 7/10 - Made the early goal with a dazzling turn and slick through ball and was probably City's most dangerous spark for long periods.
AM: Bernardo Silva - 6/10 - Couldn't direct a good chance on target after Raya had initially saved a Haaland header. Had a lot of touches in Arsenal's third but it got harder to make it count.
LM: Jeremy Doku - 6/10 - Looked to try and make things happen but a couple of blocked shots from outside the box were his most meaningful actions.
ST: Erling Haaland - 6/10 - Took his early goal extremely well, with the early finish to the near post seeming to wrongfoot Raya. Chances dried up because Arsenal squeezed the penalty area shut.
Substitutes
SUB: Mateo Kovacic (22' for Rodri) - 5/10
SUB: Phil Foden (69' for Doku) - 4/10
SUB: John Stones (79' for Walker) - 7/10
SUB: Jack Grealish (79' for Savinho) - 6/10
Manager
Pep Guardiola - 7/10 - Between Rodri being forced off and Arsenal's goal, looked various stages of irate at times during the first half. There wasn't much else he could other than will his team on.
Had no chance with Calafiori's effort but needed to be stronger up against Martinelli as he was caught under the ball for Gabriel's header. A spectator thereafter.
Kyle Walker (3/10):
Looked a shadow of his old self as he was beaten for pace by Martinelli on more than one occasion, including for the first Arsenal goal. Failed to track Gabriel for his header, too. Stung Raya's palms from range on a couple of occasions.
Manuel Akanji (6/10):
Assured in possession and dealt with crosses from open play into the penalty area.
Ruben Dias (6/10):
Heavily involved, both as the last line of defence and then in the build-up during the second half. Didn't do much wrong, but not his best game either.
Josko Gvardiol (6/10):
Kept Saka pretty quiet in open play during the first half. Forced Raya into a save midway through the second period.
Rodri (6/10):
In the wars from the opening seconds as he was clattered by Havertz before he was forced off after 20 minutes with what looked to be a serious knee injury.
Bernardo Silva (7/10):
In constant motion and showed some nice touches in and around the penalty area. Couldn't quite unlock the Arsenal defence, however.
Ilkay Gundogan (5/10):
Should have opened the scoring early on and then rattled the post from a free-kick at 1-0. Faded from the game, however, as it became more compacted around the Arsenal penalty area. Savinho (8/10):
City's best player throughout. Superb touch inside and through-ball laid on Haaland's opener, and he game Calafiori trouble throughout while drawing two bookings with his pacey dribbling.
Erling Haaland (6/10):
Superb finish brought up his century of goals for City, but he struggled to get involved in the game thereafter. Had a couple of headed efforts kept out by Raya in the second half.
Jeremy Doku (4/10):
Largely locked down by Timber as he couldn't have anywhere near the same impact as Savinho on the opposite flank. Replaced by Foden midway through the second half.
Subs & Manager Mateo Kovacic (5/10):
Barely misplaced a pass but lacked the incisiveness that Rodri may have brought after he replaced the injured Spain star.
Phil Foden (6/10):
On for the final 25 minutes but couldn't unlock the Arsenal defence.
John Stones (7/10):
On for the final 10 minutes or so and was in the right place at the right time to poke home the equaliser.
Jack Grealish (6/10):
Thrown on alongside Stones and his ball into the box led to the equalising goal.
Pep Guardiola (6/10):
Decision to stretch the game and press high paid early dividends, but his team lacked ideas after the break as they looked to break Arsenal down. Slightly fortunate to escape with a point.
Ederson-6/10: Could do little about Arsenal’s goals and was a spectator in the second half.
Kyle Walker-4/10: City’s captain was at fault for both of Arsenal’s goals. The first one could be attributed to the referee. But he lost Gabriel on the corner. Not his best performance.
Manuel Akanji-6/10: It’s hard to grade City’s defenders given how the second half played out. Akanji did what he had to do in both halves.
Ruben Dias-6/10: Same performance as Akanji. Dias did have several chances in the second half but shooting isn’t his forte.
Josko Gvardiol-7/10: I thought he was good again and was denied by Raya twice. A good display again.
Rodri-N/A: Not on long enough to mark but he was clearly targeted by Arsenal. It must be said that the challenge from Thomas Party wasn’t malicious that caused Rodri’s injury. Went off with a knee injury after 15 minutes in a major blow for the champions.
Ilkay Gundogan-6/10: A quiet performance from Gundogan. He hit the bar in the first half but was quiet for most of the game.
Bernardo Silva-6.5/10: A busy display from Bernardo, especially in the opening 15 minutes. Not at his best after that but wasn’t City’s worst performer.
Savinho-8/10: He was a constant threat before he was substituted. Set up Haaland’s opener with a sublime assist. Another quality showing from the Brazilian.
Jeremy Doku- 6/10: Most of City’s attacking play came down their right-hand side, so Doku didn’t see a lot of the ball. Wasn’t at his best when he did before he was substituted.
Erling Haaland-7/10: Scored his 100th goal for the club with a sublime finish. He was crowded out of the game when Arsenal defended deep for the second half.
Substitutes
Mateo Kovacic-6/10: Came on for Rodri early in the first half. Had several chances to score but not his day in front of goal.
Phil Foden-6/10: The game appeared set up for him when he came on. He couldn’t find any space but perhaps he should have come on earlier.
John Stones-7/10: Scored the equaliser to rescue a point for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Jack Grealish-7/10: He deserves credit for his quick thinking that set up City’s equaliser.
Didn’t have a shot to save aside from Kwadwo Baah’s disallowed effort and Tom Ince’s unstoppable finish. Passed well enough.
Kyle Walker – 6
Very little to note, as Watford hardly ever attacked down his side and he kept his ball-playing simple. Failed to clear a simple ball that played a huge role in Watford’s goal late on.
John Stones – 6
Sunday’s saviour wasn’t required to do anything quite as dramatic as against Arsenal. His long passing radar seemed somewhat off.
Kaden Braithwaite – 6.5
Given a tough task in coping with fired-up Championship-level strikers on debut. Did look neat with the ball at his feet though.
Rico Lewis – 8
Showed off his technical quality in all sorts of advanced midfield positions and knocked passes around with ease, most notably to assist Matheus Nunes.
Nico O’Reilly – 6.5
Didn’t look quite as composed as in his impressive US pre-season tour outings, struggling to deal with second balls. He grew a little more confident in the second period and was unlucky not to score before being withdrawn.
Matheus Nunes – 7.5
Will be delighted to get that goal duck off his back, and had some other good moments in an accomplished enough showing.
James McAtee – 7.5
Worked hard all game long, not being offput by any errors to continue trying to break Watford down. Instrumental in the opening goal.
Jeremy Doku – 7.5
The main target of City’s attacks in the first half, giving him plenty of opportunities to give Yasser Larouci problems. Did start against Arsenal two days ago, so despite scoring a nice goal, was rested at half-time.
Phil Foden – 6
First time back in the false nine role in quite some time, so we’ll put his sluggishness down to that, plus his lack of sharpness.
Jack Grealish – 8 (MOTM)
Massive defensive effort and didn’t stop trying to beat his man, in a refreshing change of pace from what we usually see from him. Set up Jeremy Doku’s goal.
Substitutes
Savinho – 7.5
Gave much better fluidity to the attack, looking really sharp and hungry. So unlucky to be denied his first goal by the post.
Ortega: May as well have watched the game from the stands for all he had to do in the game other than picking the ball out of the net. No chance to impress. 6
Walker: A much quieter matchday, mopping everything up at the back from a centre-half position. 7
Stones: No big goal but a solid enough performance to build his minutes. He will be needed without Rodri. 7
Braithwaite: Did not have it all his own way against the tricky Baah and came off with cramp in the second half. 6
Lewis: The heartbeat of the City team getting involved in every bit of play, and contributed for the second goal. 8
O'Reilly: Growing in the role and looks to have shot up literally from his appearance in the Community Shield. Didn't enjoy complete control but helped to push City forward. 7
McAtee: Some nice work on and off the ball, taking the ball from the keeper for the first goal, although will rue an early missed chance. 7
Nunes: A nicely taken goal to give City a comfortable lead, albeit a few ropey moments in the game that left Guardiola unimpressed. 7
Doku: Took his goal nicely and was always looking to take his man on and create something else for the attack. 7
Grealish: Showed intent from the off and earned an early assist. Kept taking on the Watford defence to continue his momentum. 7
Foden: Improved in the second half but still gave the impression he was finding his pace - not helped by having his back to goal so often as a forward. 6
Substitutes
Savinho (for Doku, 46) Lively from the moment he came on and the post denied him a brilliant solo goal. 8
Wright (for O'Reilly, 73) Made himself busy in the middle. 6
Gvardiol (for Braithwaite, 76) Slotted in without any fuss. 6
Saved by the whistle after being beaten at his near post and saw a few shots miss his goal.
Kyle Walker (5/10):
Was fine on the ball but looked suspect defensively at times.
John Stones (7/10):
Saw more of the ball than anyone else in the first half and distributed it well.
Kaden Braithwaite (6/10):
Got a solid welcome to senior football by Baah but had some good moments on his debut.
Rico Lewis (7/10):
Showed determination throughout and did well to find Nunes ahead of the second goal.
Nico O'Reilly (6/10):
Put in a combative display in midfield in just his second appearance.
Matheus Nunes (8/10):
A huge threat through the middle and was rewarded with a goal but could have had more.
James McAtee (7/10):
Unsettled Watford with his pressing to create the first goal. A heavy touch let him down in one promising attack but had a good game otherwise.
Jeremy Doku (8/10):
A smart first touch set him up for an excellent goal and was a massive threat. Subbed at half-time.
Phil Foden (4/10):
Not very effective in the middle of the attack. Had six shots and only one - from long range - was on target. Also lost the ball to let Watford create a chance.
Jack Grealish (8/10):
Perfect pass to Doku for the opener and offered a lot down the left wing with his dribbles and smart passes. Almost scored in the 81st minute.
Subs & Manager Savinho (7/10):
Offered a similar energy to Doku after replacing him by putting his dribbling ability to use. Saw an effort cleared off the line then smacked the post after a long run down the field.
Jacob Wright (5/10):
Slotted into midfield late for the last 20 minutes but didn't have much to do.
Josko Gvardiol (5/10):
Gave Tom Ince all the space he needed to curl in a beauty in the 86th minute.
Pep Guardiola (7/10):
Will be annoyed by how many chances Watford were allowed to make but his team deserved the win despite the many changes.
Manchester City will be tasked with sourcing reinforcement in central areas during the January transfer window by manager Pep Guardiola, a new report has claimed.
Premier League champions Manchester City could turn to one of four identified midfield profiles during the January transfer window following Rodri’s injury blow.
Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi is among those names, with Manchester City reportedly ‘considering’ the possibility to agreeing to meet the player’s €60 million release clause. Elsewhere, it is claimed that Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella is also on the club’s radar.
Fellow Serie A star and Atalanta midfielder Ederson is a player that the report says to ‘keep an eye on’ in the coming months, while Crystal Palace and England international Adam Wharton completes the shortlist.
Sep 19 2024, 06:00 AM
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