Manchester City defeated Arsenal 1-0 on Friday night in the first of three meetings between the two sides this season. A Nathan Ake goal in the second half was enough to win it for Pep Guardiola’s men.
Here are my player ratings from the victory:
GK: Stefan Ortega- 9/10
Ortega was immense, his shot-stopping is light years ahead of Ederson and the German should start in the Champions League knockout stages. Impressive.
RB: Rico Lewis- 6/10
Extremely assured in possession and provided some penetrative passes to break Arsenal’s press. Defensively quite poor and was beaten by Trossard a fair few times. Still only 18-years-old and a major talent.
CB: John Stones- 7/10
Solid as ever. Passing and aerial dominance were again on display as Stones’ handled Nketiah with total ease. The Englishman being substituted with a hamstring issue is a major blow for City and the Blues will be hoping it isn’t too serious.
CB: Manuel Akanji- 7.5/10
Akanji defensively is returning to the levels he set earlier on in the season. The Swiss international is quick in the tackle, defensively aware and very rarely makes a mistake. Akanji’s only limitation is his progression with the ball, and it will hurt City moving forward if Akanji stays at the central centre-back.
LB: Nathan Ake- 9/10- MOTM
What a performance from the Dutchman. Defensively, locked up one of Europe’s most elite wingers in Bukayo Saka and limited the Englishman to scraps. Offensively, Ake scored the only goal of the match with a lovely effort passed into the corner on his weaker right-foot. Arguably Ake’s finest performance of the season. Superb.
CDM: Rodri- 5/10
The first poor game of the season for the heartbeat of this City side. A few wayward passes were combined with the Spaniard looking leggy, perhaps the uninspiring signing of Kalvin Philips and the lack of minutes he’s played have made Guardiola have to play Rodri every game. Hopefully, he can have a well-deserved rest sooner rather than later as Rodri has arguably been City’s best performer all season.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan- 6/10
Another uninspiring performance from the German. Gundogan isn’t picking up the ball in dangerous areas and breaking into the box to get into goalscoring opportunities. Gundogan also looks particularly tired and City definitely need a central-midfielder this summer to provide some much-needed speed in transition and the ability to share the creative burden with Kevin De Bruyne.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne- 5.5/10
Disappointing. De Bruyne also looks like a victim of being ran-into-the ground as the Belgian currently lacks his sharpness and ability to conjure up magic out of nothing. De Bruyne’s passing is still far off what it should be and the two-time PFA Player of the Year needs to find his best form quickly so City have the best chance to catch Arsenal.
RW: Riyad Mahrez- 7/10
Despite City securing the win, I found it baffling that Mahrez was substituted whilst Grealish remained on the pitch. Mahrez looked sharp, and with De Bruyne off the boil as of late, the Algerian was City’s most creative spark. A fantastic player in fantastic form.
ST: Erling Haaland- 6.5/10
Despite his intimidating physical presence, Haaland’s game isn’t built on hold-up play and winning knock-downs off of goal-kicks. The Norwegian thrives on balls in behind and using his frightening speed and strength to latch onto passes and find himself 1v1. Despite the record-breaking season, Haaland’s City teammates need to release their number nine faster.
LW: Jack Grealish- 6/10
Grealish got the vital assist for Ake’s fantastic winner. However, the winger’s involvement in proceedings stopped there. Grealish looks too tentative when receiving possession and doesn’t engage in attacking his defenders as much as I would like. I would love to see Guardiola deploy the Englishman in the midfield three, as I feel Grealish would be best poised to use his ball-carrying abilities centrally instead of on the left-flank.
Substitutes:
Aymeric Laporte: 8.5/10- A complete defender. Laporte’s treatment since his return from injury has been baffling, and the Spaniard deserves to be a guaranteed starter. Another fantastic performance.
Kyle Walker: 7.5/10- A trademark Walker performance. Defensively solid and offered City width allowing Mahrez to drift inside. Hopefully, a return to form for the right-back.
Julian Alvarez: 8.5/10- Game-changer. The initiative from the Argentinian to pull the trigger from 30 yards was something City lacked in the first half and led to Ake’s winner. Alvarez’s selfless, intelligent runs deep and into the channel gave City another dynamic as well as the former River Plate man complimenting Haaland perfectly. Fantastic.
Bernardo Silva: 6/10- Not enough time to impact the game substantially.
Pep Guardiola- 6/10
The City manager will be happy with the win but not the performance. His side was slow and laboured for the vast majority of the match and lacked any real cutting edge until the introduction of Alvarez. I find Guardiola’s treatment of Aymeric Laporte confusing as the Spaniard ticks every box when it comes to an elite defender and would improve City’s tempo and chance creation immensely with his world-class progression through the first phase. There is still vast improvement needed from City