Fans bust Etihad myth in style as true Man City colours shown to leave pundit red faced

Manchester City scored early and very late to salvage a Premier League draw against 10 man Arsenal at the Etihad.

Erling Haaland's 100th goal for the club put the Blues but the Gunners turned it round to lead 2-1 in first half added time before Leandro Trossard was sent off for delaying the restart and collecting a second yellow card. That led to Mikel Arteta's side sitting in second half and asking City to break them down.

And just when it looked like Pep Guardiola's men didn't have the answers, John Stones popped up with a last gasp leveller to snatch a point. These are the moments you may have missed from Manchester City's showdown with Arsenal.

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Schmeichel's reception

Peter Schmeichel boiled the blood of City fans this week by needlessly taking aim at the Etihad atmosphere against Inter Milan, conveniently (or deliberately) ignoring the ticket price increases, the four home games in 11 days, and the cagey nature of the game. The video of his strange criticism has been viewed over three million times so all is fair in the name of banter, right?

Micah Richards tamely challenged Schmeichel to try and defend the City fans, with the former United keeper replying that Richards should try and get to a game one day. As an interesting twist of a depressing take, both were pitchside against Arsenal - Schmeichel for NCB and Richards for Sky Sports.

Some fans could be seen trying to direct some criticism in Schmeichel's direction pre-match as he took his place among the world's broadcasters. And the Dane couldn't have accused City fans of staying at home in a frantic encounter which saw both teams land blow-for-blow and both sets of fans play their part in a breathless spectacle.

Maybe, just maybe, Schmeichel was talking nonsense on Wednesday - he got to see that for himself just a few days later. At one point in the second half, 'We're not really here' went around the Etihad to rouse the City players - an appropriate song to further prove the point.

Rodri's injury hint

It was a nightmare 60 seconds. Rodri was up on his feet but only to limp off, and as Kyle Walker argued with referee Michael Oliver about his teammates being allowed a second to get back in position.. Arsenal restarted quickly, attacked down Walker's side, and drew level through Ricardo Calafiori's wonderful strike.

Walker led protests with Oliver, while Pep Guardiola almost took his chair off its stand and then tore into Walker for not being in position. Perhaps Guardiola was rocked by what he'd heard from Rodri in their brief exchange before the midfielder headed down the tunnel.

Guardiola asked Rodri how he was when the Spaniard got to the dugouts to be replaced by Mateo Kovacic, with the Spaniard only able to muster a frustrated shake of the head before making his way to the dressing room. The initial reaction is often telling, and City will hope Rodri is not out for an extended period.

But it didn't look good from the moment he fell to the floor and tweaked his knee.

Jesus' show of respect

This was a fourth meeting against his former club for Gabriel Jesus, who is strangely in the same position at Arsenal as he was when he left City - more used to the bench than the pitch. With Kai Havertz the first choice, Jesus is left to compete for minutes as a substitute, and went into this one without a goal against City in three reunions in the last two seasons.

There is no hard feelings from either side about Jesus' exit in 2022. He wanted more football, City got a good fee for him, and everyone has moved on. Jesus showed his respect for City when returning to the dressing room after the pre-match warm-ups, halting his walk and stepping around the City badge at the mouth of the tunnel.

He got warm applause when he went out to warm up in the second half, and could be seen catching up with old teammates and staff throughout the afternoon. He walked off down the tunnel at full-time with Kyle Walker, but only after a coming together with Erling Haaland in front of the referee and the TV cameras.

City will also be grateful for Jesus for his concession of a corner, and subsequent yellow card, in the build up to their late goal.

Pep vs Arteta contrast

Mikel Arteta is a performative manager, we know that. When Arsenal scored their two goals he celebrated like he had put them both in the back of the net himself. When Leandro Trossard was sent off, he simply walked around his technical area waving his hands to say 'no, no'. That was probably before learning that Trossard was given a second booking for kicking the ball away.

Arteta sent Arsenal out in the second half in a 5-4-0 formation and their tactics were solely to frustrate, waste time and contain. If Guardiola was pragmatic by fielding his wingers in an all-out-attack formation and later by pinning Arsenal back in their own box, Arteta was instructing his players to pack out the same box.

During one stoppage in the second half that was definitely, 100 per cent, injury-related, both managers pulled their players to the touchline for an in-game team talk. Guardiola was hopping around trying to motivate his players and inspire a comeback, whereas Arteta was calm. More of the same, boys.

These two managers are friends and that won't change on one bad-tempered fixture. But if Arteta looked like he was about to secure another scalp over his mentor with a parked bus, Guardiola's side earned a deserved equaliser late on to stay ahead of Arsenal in the table.