On this evidence, Arsenal and Manchester City look ready to go the distance again in the English Premier League, but whether Mikel Arteta can finally get the better of Pep Guardiola is still unknown.
A 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium has shown Arsenal can certainly go toe-to-toe with the four-time defending champions — but it also confirmed City's powers of resilience, after dominating English soccer for the past six years.
"Still we have this passion, this fire inside ourselves," said Guardiola, after John Stones rescued a point with an equaliser in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
Arsenal have been runners-up to City in each of the last two years, setting new benchmarks along the way, but still coming up short. Arteta was Guardiola's former assistant at City and now stands as his biggest threat.
His team looked like snapping City’s 47-game unbeaten home run, despite being down to 10 men for the whole second half, after Leandro Trossard was sent off in first-half stoppage time, but Arsenal’s resolve was finally broken by substitute Stones, who swept in from close range in the final moments.
"Obviously, it is already a miracle we played 56 minutes at the Etihad with 10 men," said Arteta, who was incensed when Trossard was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away. "It is unbelievable what we have done.
“I’m expecting 100 Premier League games this season to play 10 against 11 or 10 against 10 or nine against 10, let’s see."
City were defending an unbeaten home run dating back to a 2-1 loss to Brentford in November 2022. Arsenal were within moments of their first victory at City since 2015, after Gabriel Magalhaes’ first-half header put the visitors 2-1 up.
Stones' late leveller was in keeping with a game packed with intrigue and incident.
Erling Haaland reached a landmark when putting City ahead in the ninth with his 100th goal for the club in 105 appearances, firing past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. That later felt like an aside, as the home fans began to resign themselves to a rare defeat on home soil.
Influential City midfielder Rodri left the field in the 20th, after appearing to hurt his right knee. The Spain international limped off and his departure proved a turning point, as Arsenal levelled just two minutes later through Riccardo Calafiori’s curling effort from outside the area.
Magalhaes then headed the visitors in front from a corner in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, after coming close from an almost identical routine shortly before. There was still time for another pivotal moment before the break, when Trossard was sent off.
With a numerical advantage, City dominated the second half, but looked like being frustrated by Arsenal's stubborn defence and some impressive saves from Raya.
Stones, a centre-back who sometimes operates in midfield, was brought on and Guardiola instructed him to join Haaland in attack.
"He wanted me to play closer to Erling, get higher up the pitch, so when we got crosses in, we could start to win more aerial duels," said Stones.
It paid off.
"Over the years, we have learned, as a team, to stick together, no matter who is playing and to always be ready," added Stones.
The draw ended City’s 100% winning record in the league season, but left them a point ahead of second-placed Liverpool and Aston Villa in third. Arsenal are two points off the leader in fourth.
Arteta says his players were “really gutted” in the locker room, after seeing victory snatched away so late.
“As well, they know that they have made another big step today," he said.
Seeing red
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler and Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo have both been sent off in a bad-tempered end to their teams' 2-2 draw.
The dismissals were triggered by Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White being shown a second yellow card in the 83rd at Amex Stadium for a reckless challenge on Joao Pedro.
That sparked angry reactions on the sidelines, with Espirito Santo and Hurzeler both shown red by referee Robert Jones for what the premier league described as “unacceptable technical area behaviour”.
Forest stunned Liverpool with a 1-0 win at Anfield last weekend and took the lead through Kiwi Chris Wood's penalty in the 13th minute. Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck gave Brighton a halftime lead with goals in the 42nd and 45th, before Ramon Sosa levelled the game in the 70th.
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