Man City and Arsenal play out Etihad draw Liverpool take over top spot

Title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal played out a hard-fought but largely forgettable goalless draw as Liverpool ended the weekend top of the Premier League.

After Jurgen Klopp’s men came back to beat Brighton earlier on Sunday, attention turned to the Etihad Stadium for the final league meeting between any of the three teams vying for glory.

But the high-profile clash fell well short of the pre-match hype as Pep Guardiola’s men were held by former City coach Mikel Arteta and his well-drilled Arsenal side in a cagey 0-0 draw – the first time in 76 Premier League games that last season’s treble winners have been involved in a goalless stalemate.

Whether this proves an important point for either side or a missed opportunity remains to be seen, with Liverpool now at the summit on 67 points ahead of Arsenal on 65 and City on 64.

There is sure to be plenty of twists and turns over final nine matches, but Sunday’s Etihad Stadium encounter was devoid of any such excitement.

Gabriel Jesus had Arsenal’s best opportunities in a drab first half dominated by the home side for most part without creating opportunities.

Referee Anthony Taylor gave little in terms of cards during a game that limped towards a draw, ending the Gunners’ eight-game losing streak in all competitions at the Etihad.

Guardiola made two changes to his starting line-up as Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Ake came in for Jeremy Doku and the injured Kyle Walker, with Arsenal’s only alteration seeing Jesus replace Leandro Trossard.

The former City forward had the first meaningful chance of a tense afternoon, meeting Ben White’s cross from the right with a touch and strike narrowly wide. Arteta slapped his thighs in frustration.

But City were camped in the visitors’ half before and after that seventh-minute warning shot, albeit their patient probing and possession failed to translate into clear-cut chances.

Ake had the hosts’ only first-half attempt on target – a close-range shouldered effort straight at David Raya from a corner – and was forced off with an apparent calf injury in the 26th minute.

Rico Lewis replaced him shortly after Kai Havertz stretched to meet the ball in a challenge with Stefan Ortega and City’s subsequent defensive rejig was nearly punished by the Gunners five minutes later.

Good play down the right ended with a deep cross to Jakub Kiwior, who dropped the ball back for Jesus to jink into space and hit a low shot across the face of Ortega’s goal.

City responded with a few half-chances but were unable to seriously test an Arsenal side fortunate to go into half-time without a single booking to their name.

Mateo Kovacic bent a 20-yard effort wide within two minutes of the restart as Arsenal began to become as incensed with the lack of yellow cards and fouls as the hosts.

Arteta’s gesticulations in the technical area were mocked by City fans, who held their breath when Bukayo Saka got behind to slide a low ball across the face of goal that just evaded Jesus at the far post.

Manuel Akanji had smartly disrupted the forward’s move otherwise it could have been the opener.

Tempers were rising around the ground and there were ironic cheers in the 67th minute when Jesus received the first booking of the day after throwing the ball away.

But the former City man received applause from some of the home support when he was taken off among a swathe of changes made by both managers.

Arsenal star Saka was another replaced, walking off gingerly shortly after being caught out, but not punished, by De Bruyne.

Raya was booked for time-wasting as Taylor went to his pocket for just the second time, before both sides wasted chances to win it.

First Erling Haaland just failed to get his toe on a ball in the box, then substitute Trossard got behind to test Ortega when he needed a cleaner shot or a pass to Gabriel Martinelli.

Haaland received treatment late on and saw penalty hopes ignored, with the five minutes of stoppage time coming to nothing.

Prior to the match, Liverpool had come from behind to defeat Brighton 2-1 at Anfield. Danny Welbeck gave the visitors a shock lead after two minutes, but Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah both scored to ensure the Reds emerged triumphant.

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Arsenal's best and worst players in 0-0 draw with Man City
Arsenal drew 0-0 with Man City at the Etihad Stadium
The Gunners dropped down to second in the Premier League table
They are two points adrift of Liverpool

By Jack Gallagher
12:00 AM GMT+1
Saliba impressed
Saliba impressed / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
At the eighth time of asking, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal finally managed to secure a positive rule away at Manchester City on Sunday.

The Gunners had lost seven straight games at the Etihad Stadium, but managed to hold off the treble-winners to secure a vital point on Sunday afternoon in their quest to win a first Premier League title in two decades

So which players helped Mikel Arteta's side to that 0-0 draw? Here's Arsenal's best and worst players against Man City, according to 90min's esteemed player ratings.

Arsenal's best player vs Manchester City
William Saliba: 8/10
Phil Foden, William Saliba
Saliba was outstanding / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages
William Saliba earned himself the coveted 90min player of the match award for his masterclass on Sunday.

Up against the best striker in the Premier League (and arguably the world), Saliba put in perhaps the best performance of his career to date, pocketing an Erling Haaland who was in search of his 30th goal of the season in all competitions.

The towering centre-back won a rather remarkable eight duels, made five clearances and recovered possession eight times for his team as he led them to an impressive clean sheet away at the Citizens. Top class.

Arsenal's worst player vs Manchester City
Gabriel Jesus: 4/10
Gabriel Jesus
Struggled against his former club / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
'Jesus shouldn't have bother rising on Easter Sunday!!!!'

That was the general gist of social media's reaction to Gabriel Jesus' outing against his former club.

The forward, filling in on the left flank for Gabriel Martinelli, actually saw quite a bit of the ball in comparison to his offensvie teammates, but never did anything with it.

From holding on to possession for too long in a dangerous area, to fluffing his lines in front of goal early in the first half, one can see why Arsenal fans are crying out for their club to sign a new star striker during the upcoming summer transfer window.

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