Arsenal hold Manchester City to goalless draw in key encounter

The high octane game between Manchester City and Arsenal ended goalless to help Liverpool extend their lead at the top to two points. The two sides played some excellent football but neither side could create a chance to win the game. 

If Arsenal had won they could have gone to the top of the table leapfrogging Liverpool. Manchester City too had a chance to go past Arsenal and take the second spot in what is a tantalizing finish to the EPL season. 

The three teams will now look to the next few games left in the season. Liverpool have a few tough fixtures left to play. Next week they play Manchester United away from home. There are also games against Everton, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and West Ham United left to be played. 

Arsenal defense nullifies City attack 

Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta set out their teams in a defensive position to start the game. The threat of Erling Haaland was prevalent and this made Arsenal close down their back line to negate the City’s threat. 

City saw yet another player get injured as Nathan Ake was forced off the field in the 27th minute. Declan Rice was brilliant as the former West Ham United man kept the City attackers at bay. When the half-time whistle went off the score was 0-0. 

Jeremy Doku was brought into replace Phil Foden who was having a quiet game. Mateo Kovacic also made way for Jack Grealish as City wanted to build on the tiring Arsenal full backs. 

Sensing this the Arsenal Manager made a tactical change as Takehiro Tomiyasu was slotted into the right-back. That change did the trick as the Japanese star was robust in his defensive duties. 

Former Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus was given a yellow card as he was getting frustrated. The Brazilian didn’t have a great return to the Etihad as he was unable to get a proper shot on target. 

The rest of the game was meandering towards a draw as both managers saw their defenders come out strong. Despite a few late changes by the Gunners, the City team held their own. This was the first time in 8 attempts that Arsenal go back home having not lost to Manchester City.