Arsenal manage 1-1 draw against Manchester City: Decoding the stats
What's the story
Arsenal and Manchester City played out a thrilling 1-1 draw on Matchday 5 of the Premier League 2025-26 season at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to score a stunning equalizer in the dying minutes of the game, denying City a crucial victory. Earlier, the in-form Erling Haaland handed Man City a 1-0 lead in the opening stages. Both sides will be pleased with a point. Here we decode the key stats.
Match highlights
Haaland fires City ahead in the 9th minute
The match started with a bang as Haaland scored a brilliant breakaway goal in the ninth minute. He started and finished a devastating counter after combining with Tijjani Reijnders, making it three goals in as many games against Arsenal. The strike was also his 19th in the last 15 appearances across competitions, giving City an early lead.
Game turnaround
Arsenal grow into the game after a quiet 1st half
Despite City's low possession rate of 32.8%, a record under Pep Guardiola, Arsenal struggled to create chances in the first half. Their only real chance came when Noni Madueke forced a near-post save from Gianluigi Donnarumma. However, things changed after the halftime introductions of Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka with Eze coming close to leveling soon after coming on but was denied by Donnarumma's sharp save.
Tactical changes
Martinelli's late strike denies City a crucial win
In an unusual move, Guardiola switched to a back five after bringing Nathan Ake on for Phil Foden. The change seemed to be working until Martinelli came off the bench and scored a superb finish over Donnarumma after latching onto Eze's pass in the dying minutes of the game. His strike was similar to his winner as a substitute against City in October 2023.
Player reaction
Rice lauds Martinelli for match-saving goal
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice praised Martinelli for his composure and desire to deliver in big moments. "The run and finish - it's unbelievable at that stage of the game. To have that composure, he really deserves it," said Rice to Sky Sports. He added, "So even though we didn't win, I thought we finally deserved it because we dominated today and played really, really well."
Information
A look at the points table
After 5 matches, Arsenal are 2nd with 10 points. They are 5 points behind Liverpool. Arsenal are ahead of Tottenham on goal difference. Guardiola's Man City are 9th with 7 points (W2 D1 L2).
Haaland
91 goals for Haaland in the Premier League
Making his 102nd Premier League appearance, Haaland has raced to 91 goals. He also owns 16 assists. This season, he has scored six goals from 5 Premier League appearances. Overall, Haaland has managed 131 goals in 152 appearances for Man City in all competitions. This season, he has bagged 7 goals from 6 matches.
Do you know?
Martinelli scores his 53rd goal in all competitions for Arsenal
Martinelli scored his 41st Premier League goal in what was his 165th appearance. He owns 20 assists. In 230 games for Arsenal in all competitions, Martinelli has raced to 53 goals.
Match stats
Arsenal dominate the match stats
Arsenal made 12 attempts with three shots on target. Man City had 3 shots on target from 5 attempts. The Gunners had 39 touches in the opposition box. Man City had 8 such touches. Arsenal managed 67% ball possession and completed 515 passes. Mikel Arteta's men had 11 corners compared to Man City's 1.
Opta stats
Key records made with this 1-1 draw
Arsenal manager Arteta is the first manager to avoid defeat in 5 successive league games against Guardiola (W2 D3). Man City's points tally of 7 after five games into a Premier League season is their worst since the 2006-07 season (4 points). Man City are now winless in each of their last three Premier League visits to the Emirates Stadium.