Overview

• Arsenal needed a 93rd‑minute Gabriel Martinelli equaliser from Eberechi Eze’s pass to secure a 1-1 draw after dominating set pieces and possession with 11 corners to City’s one and City limited to roughly 33% of the ball.
• Gary Neville praised Pep Guardiola’s pragmatic 5-4-1 as a plan to crowd the box and neutralise Arsenal’s aerial threat, noting City looked comfortable against corners and long throw-ins and highlighting Erling Haaland’s growing leadership and defensive work.
• Neville labelled Arsenal a “one-trick pony” for relying heavily on dead balls, urged them to “take the handbrake off,” and questioned whether Arteta and his players truly believe they can win the Premier League.
• Roy Keane, Jamie Carragher and Steve Nicol echoed the criticism, arguing Arteta’s risk-averse mindset in big games will not be enough against Liverpool and Manchester City and pointing to a creativity shortfall from open play.
• Arteta’s selection drew scrutiny for starting Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard over Eze and Martinelli, with double half-time changes to introduce Eze and Bukayo Saka cited as evidence he “got it wrong,” as Arsenal sit five points behind leaders Liverpool after five matches.