V!D£0: The moment Arsenal fans attacked and injured Micheal Oliver outside the stadium after Man City match
Arsenal were given a real test at the Etihad. The Gunners generally start strong in away games, but in the opening exchanges here they were awful.
Erling Haaland was allowed far too cheap a goal, and when Ilkay Gundogan struck the post with a free kick, it really felt like a matter of when not if City would find a second.
Perhaps though Arsenal had watched the boxing the night before. Unlike Anthony Joshua, the Gunners took the blows in this heavyweight clash, but stayed standing. Eventually they began to hit back.
Riccardo Calafiori’s goal showed the kind of clinical edge that has gone against Arsenal so often in recent seasons. After that they could have gained the lead through Leandro Trossard or Gabriel as the began to wrestle back control of the game. By the time Gabriel nodded the Gunners in front, there were few that could argue it wasn’t deserved.
Because of the outstanding levels Arsenal have set themselves, maybe some people would have expected that. But that shouldn’t take away from just how spectacular an achievement that is.