Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji in action against Arsenal
Paul ELLIS
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Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji says Arsenal are masters of the “black arts” but he is optimistic about his team’s Premier League title chances after a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
The champions needed an equaliser from John Stones deep in injury time to draw level with the ten-man Gunners in a thrilling match on Sunday.
This was a relief for City after a frustrating second half in which the visitors sat back to defend a hard-earned 2-1 lead before Leandro Trossard was sent off for a second yellow card.
Pep Guardiola’s unbeaten team, who are aiming for their fifth consecutive title, are top of the table with 13 points, two ahead of Arsenal, who are also unbeaten this season.
The Gunners, runners-up in each of the last two seasons, did their best to disrupt and slow down City, who clearly dominated the game in the second half.
City striker Bernardo Silva accused Mikel Arteta’s team of “wasting time”, while Stones also criticised the visitors’ approach.
“You can call it clever or dirty, whatever you want to say, but they interrupt the game and mess up the rhythm,” he told the BBC.
When Swiss international Akanji was asked if Arsenal had mastered the “dark arts” of the game, he replied: “Yeah, I don’t think there are many who can do it better than them.”
“But in the end we always won the title and I don’t think it will be any different this year.
“When we play against them, it’s always what they’re looking for: going hard in the tackles, defending, 11 players in their own penalty area and then trying to score from set pieces.
“It worked out for them, so they’re happy with the one point. We’re not. We tried to get more, but they’re happy with that.”
“At the end of the day, we are still top of the table. We haven’t lost a game yet.”
City took an early lead, with Erling Haaland scoring his 100th goal for the club in his 105th game.
Arsenal hit back with a superb equaliser from Riccardo Calafiori on his debut, although it was not without controversy as Kyle Walker was caught in an awkward position shortly after being called to speak to the referee.
Gabriel then gave Arteta’s men the lead with a header from a corner, but the tone of the game changed when Trossard received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away following a foul.
Gunners defender Jurrien Timber told the club’s website: “It felt like we had been defending for two hours. It was tough but it would have been worth it if we had won.”
“We can be proud of ourselves even with this draw. We are disappointed, but also proud of the team because we gave it our all.”
