Arsenal

Image source, Reuters

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard says he is making progress with his recovery from an ankle ligament injury, although he does not yet know a date for his return.

The midfielder was writing in his captain's notes column in the club's match programme, external for the visit of Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

"It was a bad twist to my ankle, and I damaged some ligaments there, but it’s part of football and now I’m just trying to recover as quickly as I can," he wrote.

"I’m moving forward, making progress and I’m feeling more positive every day. I’m working hard and my only thought is to get back as soon as possible."

The Norwegian has missed Arsenal's past three games - a win in the north London derby, followed by successive draws away to Atalanta in the Champions League and against Premier League title rivals Manchester City.

While the midfielder remains sidelined, he did share his relief that the injury was not as serious as first feared.

"I’ve injured my ankle before and the pain felt a bit different this time. That’s what scared me, but from what happened it could have been worse, so in that sense I got away with it a bit," he said.

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal held Manchester City away from home in remarkably difficult circumstances with a defensive performance that was as close to perfect as possible given the context of the game.

Close, but no cigar.

If you are leading with the clock passing 95 minutes and you do not manage to see it out, it is only natural to feel deflated.

When the dust settles, they will know that it was an incredible performance that shows they have resilience, heart, nastiness and indeed every trick in the book up their combined sleeves. They will need all of that for the rest of the season if they are going to stay with the champions.

For the neutral, it was as intense a football game as you are likely to see. It underlines once and for all that these two teams are worthy adversaries that will join some of the great titanic Premier League rivalries of the past. I cannot wait for the next meeting already.

Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta might both feel relieved but spare a thought for referee Michael Oliver. He made a few mistakes, particularly with Arsenal’s first goal, but there will be very few tougher games to manage.

Both sets of fans will be fuming with him but I am happy I was not the one trying to control that one. It was close to impossible and maybe he was the most relieved person in the entire ground when he blew the final whistle.

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Arsenal have no intention to negotiate the potential sale of William Saliba, despite Real Madrid holding an interest in the French defender. (FootballTransfers), external

Arsenal are planning a move to sign Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic, 24, from Juventus next summer. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Laura Kirk-Francis
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Sunday's 2-2 draw between Arsenal and current champions Manchester City showcased the best, and the worst, of Premier League football in 2024.

On the one hand, we saw two of the league's best teams going head to head early in the season: a red card, a screamer from outside the box, City manager Pep Guardiola kicking a seat, and, of course, a last minute winner.

More often than not these much-hyped match-ups turn out to be cagey snoozefests, so surely fans can at least appreciate the sheer entertainment we were treated to?

Wrong. If you were to review the coverage after the final whistle, you'd struggle to find anything about the quality of football that was on show.

In the blue corner, City fans and captain Bernardo Silva accused Arsenal of 'dark arts', which given the 12.5% of possession Arsenal managed in the second half could be a fair point. But no team has beaten City at the Etihad since 2022. Arsenal surely can't be blamed for trying to hold on to a winning position with 10 men.

In the red corner, Arsenal fans felt aggrieved at Trossard's sending off, with many accusing referee Michael Oliver of showing a lack of consistency for similar acts by City players. Perhaps they should be more aggrieved at Trossard for giving Oliver the opportunity in the first place. If Arsenal are to become masters of the dark arts, they're going to have to get a bit better at it. True masters of the dark arts don't concede in the 98th minute.

It's disappointing that much of the narrative around the game was hyperbolic finger-pointing and points-scoring. In truth it actually marked the start of a real and feisty rivalry, which should be good news for all fans.

Find more from Laura Kirk-Francis at the Latte Firm podcast, external

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport Researcher

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Carabao Cup game against Bolton (kick-off 19:45 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On Sunday's draw with Manchester City: "I take it like a normal game - it was an emotional game, but they all are. I am looking forward to Wednesday. We have already moved on and are ready to battle again."

• When asked who is in line to play on Wednesday: "Let's see who is available tomorrow. Unfortunately there will be a few players unavailable. We have to wait for one of them [injury picked up on Sunday]"

• The Spainard confirmed Oleksandr Zinchenko and Martin Odegaard will be out for "weeks", saying the latter "unlikely" to return before the October international break.

• On the League Cup as a competition: "We want to win the game. We have to start with the first game - we have to understand what is the best team we can put out."

• On younger players getting minutes against Bolton: "It's a great opportunity for them to show what they are doing and transform what they are doing in training onto the pitch."

• On Raheem Sterling settling in: "He's been very good. He's had a few minutes and tomorrow he has another opportunity. He's hungry to get more minutes and impact the team. Hopefully we can see that tomorrow."

• When asked if Jose Mourinho has influenced him: "More than influence, I think you learn a lot from other top coaches and you try to understand why they’ve been successful. But if it goes in a different direction, do you have the ability to adapt?"

Follow all of the day's football news

Rory Smith from The New York Times, speaking about Arsenal on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: "There's a degree to which they are a much more, and I say this as a compliment, a cynical team. That's what you need to be successful and I'm not sure that's always picked up.

"You think of Mikel Arteta as very sophisticated. He speaks multiple languages and trained under Pep Guardiola as a coach. They've got lots of wonderful footballers and really attack-minded players.

"But they are very controlled. They are extremely good at shutting games down as we saw on Sunday because for all the possession City had in that second half, there were an awful lot of shots from defenders.

"I'm imagining that Pep Guardiola's plan for the second half was not 'let's see if Ruben Dias can score.' It feels like something that he maybe did not want to happen but Arsenal shut that down absolutely brilliantly.

"We talked about Gabriel and William Saliba last week as potentially the best central defensive partnership in Europe, but the whole team is very good at shutting space down and basically stopping games happening.

"I'm not sure that side of Arsenal is necessarily appreciated as much as it should be."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

The Monday Night Club panel believe Arsenal must win something in order for their rivalry with Manchester City to be elevated.

The teams that have finished first and second in the Premier League for the past two seasons drew 2-2 in a enthralling and controversial meeting on Sunday.

"That's what we want from two teams going head-to-head," said former Premier League striker Chris Sutton.

"We want that edge, that element of dislike. It does seem like that. In terms of a rivalry, Arsenal have to win something really for it to be a rivalry as far as I can see.

"We can't call it a rivalry if Manchester City are cleaning up and winning everything, Arsenal have to make that next step and maybe this season they're bullish and they feel they can do that.

"But, I just wonder if I was in that Arsenal dressing room after that game would it have felt like a defeat or an unbelievable point. I can't imagine what it would have been like."

"It's definitely a rivalry but it's not a legendary rivalry," added former Everton and Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend. "To be an iconic rivalry it needs to be City win the league then Arsenal the next year and back to City.

"I remember the battle of the Bridge with Spurs against Chelsea and that carried over for a couple of years, so there will definitely be a carry over from this game."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Fresh footage has emerged of Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya going down for treatment under instruction from the Gunners bench during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Debate has been swirling since the game about the visitors’ perceived time-wasting tactics and how much stoppage time there should have been.

BBC Sport has obtained footage, which has been published by other media outlets, shot from a wider camera position, high up in the stand opposite the dug-outs, showing a member of the Arsenal backroom team gesturing for Raya to go down as he gets ready to take a goal-kick midway through the second-half.

At the same time, Arsenal substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly, who had been warming up close to the corner flag, runs down the goal-line and attracts Raya’s attention.

Raya then spots the ball, before walking backwards and sitting down saying he needs treatment.

Most of the Arsenal players are then called to the bench to allow manager Mikel Arteta to offer instructions.

Lewis-Skelly was booked for unsporting behaviour but Raya was not cautioned for simulation because referee Michael Oliver did not know what had been said between the Arsenal duo.

Image source, Getty Images

Goalkeeper David Raya has played a key role in Arsenal's impressive start to the season, and made several important interventions on Sunday as the Gunners came close to a famous win at Premier League title rivals Manchester City.

Asked on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast if Raya is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League at the moment, ex-England international Paul Robinson said: "He's certainly making a case for being up there with the best.

"The art of goalkeeping has changed over the years and David Raya is one of the best modern-day goalkeepers there is.

"You look at the way he plays with his feet and the saves he makes, the agility he's got, it was in evidence again on Sunday.

"The big thing you saw was his confidence in leaving the line taking crosses. He's not the biggest or most imposing goalkeeper but the agility he's got and his ability with the feet, he combines that with coming out for crosses."

Listen to more reaction on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Erling Haaland's act of throwing the ball at the back of Gabriel's head after Manchester City's late equaliser against Arsenal was a "coward's move", former Gunners striker Ian Wright has said.

City striker Haaland collected the ball from the net after John Stones' goal and threw it at the back of the Arsenal defender, who was looking the other way and had put his shirt over his head in frustration.

The Video Assistant Referee reviewed the incident but chose not to intervene because it was not deemed a red card offence, while the Football Association will not take further action over any of the incidents during the 2-2 draw at Etihad Stadium.

In a video on Instagram, Wright said: "The one thing that boiled me up properly was Haaland's coward's move.

"Throwing the ball at Gabi's head when he's not looking. When Gabi's back's turned to him. Real coward's move. Gabi would look him in the eye, you know.

"That's what bothered me more than anything else. I thought you [Haaland] were bigger than that."

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

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Mikel Arteta's half time plans at 45+7 minutes were likely quite different to the ones he suddenly needed to draw up when the whistle blew for the interval during Sunday's 2-2 draw at Manchester City.

The Gunners had been in a good position heading into the break, boasting a 2-1 lead, but Leandro Trossard's red card seconds before half-time put paid to that.

Arteta removed winger Bukayo Saka for defender Ben White for the second half and seemingly sent his side back out with a 'what we have, we hold' mentality.

Image source, Opta

In the first half, Manchester City were more dominant (64% possession to 34%), but attack-wise, it was more even.

Arsenal had four shots to City's five, both had two on target and three inside the box, while the Gunners' xG was 0.61 compared with the home side's 0.77.

Despite conceding early to Erling Haaland, Arsenal worked their way back into the game and took clinical advantage of two set plays to nudge in front.

But, as the below graphic shows, their approach was drastically different in the second half.

Image source, Opta

For the second 45 minutes, Arsenal's play was almost solely focused in and around their 18-yard box.

The dogged defensive display resulted in just 12.4% of the possession as they repelled wave after wave of Manchester City attacks.

With just one attempt at goal of their own, Arsenal faced 28 shots, nine of which were on target and 12 from inside the box.

There were 40 touches in the Arsenal box for Pep Guardiola's men compared to the Gunners' three. City played 324 passes in the final third to just 21 for the visitors.

Ultimately the pressure told, with substitute John Stones' equaliser in the final few seconds putting an end to one of the most eye-catching defensive displays in recent memory in the Premier League.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Arsenal defender Matthew Upson says his old side were forced into gamesmanship to defend their lead during Sunday's draw at Manchester City, saying their defensive display shows their grown into a "really resilient" team.

Mikel Arteta's side played the second half a man light after Leandro Trossard's controversial red card but kept City out until John Stones' dramatic equaliser in the final minute of stoppage time.

"I think they got to a point where they had to [engage in gamesmanship]," he told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast. "You have a strategy, you want to get a result, you're within the regulations you would say.

"Some would say you're bending those but to hang on for the point and nearly get the win just shows you the lengths and distance they pushed themselves.

"They had to do certain things in order to make things happen and they managed the game really well.

Upson also felt the decision to dismiss Trossard was harsh, referee Michael Oliver showing the Belgium forward a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

The incident drew comparisons with Declan Rice's second yellow for the same offence against Brighton earlier this season.

"The Declan Rice one - he intentionally tries to delay the restart," Upson said. "Trossard wasn’t that situation for me. It was a player that had fouled and then in the moment you’re running towards the ball, you've heard the whistle, you're in that zone and he does partially pull out of kicking the ball away.

"I don't think it was an intentional thing to do to delay the restart. I think referees getting that right on the pitch is quite a difficult interpretation.

"From Arsenal's perspective, to have two this season that have then ended up seeing them drop two points in both games, being punished for the same thing is tough.

Listen to the full chat from 1:56:00 on BBC Sounds

Following his goal against Manchester City, Gabriel is up to 16 goals for Arsenal since his move in 2020 and is probably the most lethal centre-back in the Premier League at the moment.

But where does he rank in the annals of goalscoring centre-backs?

We have taken a look at some of the other highest performers and now it's up to you: Who would you most likely want on the end of a corner?

Make your selection here

Former Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given praised David Raya for his performance against Manchester City on Match of the Day 2:

"David Raya has had so many headlines since he joined the football club. When they [Man City] got past Arsenal's low block, Raya showed why they splashed the money to bring him from Brentford.

"Because the defence was so deep, he sees a lot of the shots late and his reactions are unbelievable.

"(From the graphic above) The save percentage jumps off the page for me. That is probably number one in the Premier League.

"We saw the double save he made in the Champions League during the week. He's having a real rich vein of form at the minute."

Listen to the full analysis of the match on BBC iPlayer

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering questions on all things Premier League.

Tom: Hi Phil. Have Man City not just deliberately shifted the narrative with this ‘dark arts’ talk? They scraped a very last minute draw against 10 men, at home. Yes, Arsenal did all they could to keep them out but why is it that we’re not talking about the most creative and clinical strike force potentially in the world, not being able to find a way through in 52 minutes? Also, why is nobody talking about Haaland completely getting away with unsporting behaviour while celebrating that goal?

Phil answered: Hello, Tom. Totally agree about Haaland. Ridiculous thing to do, especially at such a moment of high emotion, and he should have been punished. In referee Michael Oliver’s defence that was a real crowd scene after the goal and there was an awful lot going on.

I think Manchester City were frustrated at the way the game went and their inability to break through 10-man Arsenal. I don’t think they will care for one second about all this “dark arts” criticism and the harsh words aimed at them by Bernardo Silva. They will probably take it as a compliment.

Follow along with McNulty's full Q&A here

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Manchester City and Arsenal.

Here are some of your comments:

Man City fans

Gerald: We were very lucky to take a draw from this match. We were way too slow in transition in the second half. Gundogan and Foden should have take way more shots from outside the box. We were way better in the first half, but I will gladly take the draw.

Sanj: Walker is a poor captain, role model and player. He was to blame for both goals and we should've got rid of him years ago. Why put Ruben Dias in the centre and why not pepper Arsenal's goal with shots, rather than passing sideways? City need to learn how to play against very defensive teams, they should have learned from Wednesday night!

Stella: City were treated to some real 'dark arts' football by Arsenal. Some shocking decisions from referee Michael Oliver but it was a great game to watch, if somewhat frustrating due to Arsenal's spoiling tactics. The point for City is a victory for football. I hope that Rodri's injury isn't as bad as it looks. City are top - where they should be!

David: It is so poetic when time-wasting bites the offending team on the bum. Disgusting tactics from Arsenal - you can cheat to get a result but not to win the league. Bridesmaids yet again, if there is any justice. It was a very poor refereeing performance too. Champions again ole, ole!

Arsenal fans

Deme: A resilient Arsenal performance. They played with experience and solidarity, which shows they can compete at the top level. The last three away games have been tough, but they have come through it without defeat. Very unlucky in the end to not beat City because they didn't know how to break us down in the second half. They were lucky to score.

Martin: Arsenal were defensively brilliant and made up their minds that they would just defend the second half to hold on to the win. They faltered right at the end but they will be happy after going behind so early on. I didn't like their time-wasting tactics, but I'm sure every other team would do the same.

Olufemi: Though Arsenal performed beyond my expectations, they have themselves to blame for being in the poor situation they found themselves in. Arsenal are gradually turning into an undisciplined team, from looking at their last two red cards. I never expected to see a group of professionals getting carried away and losing their heads while in their 'office'.

Kyle: I've got big hopes for Arsenal this season. Not too long ago, City were unbeatable but now, even with a player down, Arsenal didn't give in. A very big result and a great game for Mikel Arteta and the team. I'm looking forward to seeing City play at the Emirates with Martin Odegaard back in contention! Hopefully Michael Oliver won't be officiating!

Image source, Getty Images

It was "heartbreaking" for Arsenal fans seeing the side concede in the last minute, but "satisfying" for Manchester City supporters to secure the draw.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast, Arsenal fan Charlene Smith said: "I’m absolutely gutted with the result.

"In the bigger picture, it is a good result for us to get a 2-2 draw at the Etihad considering we played the whole of the second half with only 10 men, but the fact that we managed to do that and hold on, defend so well for that second half, only to concede that last minute goal is heartbreaking.

"But I take it as a compliment that Man City fans are celebrating a draw against us with 10 men. It just goes to show the levels that we are at and how well we actually played in the game.

"If you just have to sit back and defend in order to see the game out then yes, it is boring, but if it is going to get you the result then so be it."

On the other side, Manchester City fan Steven McInerney added: "If you can’t win graciously, then draw comically.

"It felt so satisfying at the end because I thought we were pretty boring in the second half and making a pig’s ear of trying to breakdown that defence, so to come away with a draw against Arsenal I’ll take that in the end.

"I don’t want to give [Arsenal's defence] credit for their time-wasting and the dark arts. It was good defensively, I can’t deny that, but if you put so much into the dark arts there is only so much credit you can get.

"Eventually, if it doesn’t go your way in the end then I don’t think you can feel too sorry for yourself."

Listen to the full discussion from 19'00 on BBC Sounds

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Image source, Getty Images

Leandro Trossard followed up a clumsy barge on Bernardo Silva by booting the ball away. It was a lesson not learned after Declan Rice was sent off for a similar offence against Brighton recently. As the saying goes, he gave the referee a decision to make and he made it. Off he went.

Trossard can have no complaints but Arsenal can cry injustice, as they did against Brighton, about inconsistency as Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku escaped punished for the same offence earlier.

It changed the entire emphasis for the visitors, who had to revert to a rearguard action after overturning City’s lead and taking control.

The stage was set for a siege on the Gunners' goal and so it proved. Pretty much every gaze inside a frantic Etihad Stadium was fixed on one side of the pitch for that 53-minute second half.

Arsenal only had 22% possession overall, their second-lowest recorded since 2003-04, the lowest also being against City when they managed just 20% in August 2011.

The picture of the second half is accurately painted by the fact they only had 12.5% possession but it is a measure of Arsenal’s defensive discipline that they could spend so much time without the ball against a side of City’s quality and survive for so long - although not quite long enough.

Read Phil's full piece

Image source, Getty Images

Neither Jurrien Timber (six passes) nor Kai Havertz (five passes) completed any of their passes for Arsenal against Manchester City.

In doing so, they became, the first outfield players on record (since the 2003-04 season) to play 89 minutes or more of a Premier League match and not successfully pass to a team-mate.