Manchester City struggled to cope with Bukayo Saka and if Arsenal’s other players had been as determined as the teenager to earn the win, Arsenal would probably have come away from the Etihad with something on Sunday, James Robson of Standard Sports reckons.
The Gunners were beaten by a lone goal by the Citizens, but one player who looked like he could hurt City for the duration of the game was Saka.
The young Englishman time and again exposed City’s fragile backline, but he didn’t get much help from his Arsenal teammates.
Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola set about trying to surprise each other with their tactics on the evening and Pep came out top, but Saka was also one of the better players on the night for both teams.
Robson claimed that while other Arsenal players shadow-boxed their way through the game, Saka went for the kill against City.
He wrote on his column: “In what turned out to be a tactical chess match between Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, it was the 19-year-old who provided the flashes of inspiration that might have seen Arsenal leave the Etihad with more than a customary defeat on their travels to big-six rivals.
“While those around him were busy shadow boxing, Saka went in search of a knockout blow. And if more of his team-mates had matched his ambition, Manchester City’s fragile confidence and defence would have faced a sterner examination”
