Arsenal’s players ‘weren’t good enough’ vs Man City, BBC pundit claims they ‘got lucky’
Arsenal have been unable to keep pace with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League so far this season.
Mikel Arteta’s side were beaten at 1-0 at Anfield earlier in the campaign, courtesy of a late Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick, and have now dropped more points in the title race.
Arsenal drew 1-1 with Manchester City on Sunday (21 September) evening, leaving them five points behind Liverpool after just five games.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring for Pep Guardiola’s side, before Gabriel Martinelli rescued a point for the Gunners with an injury-time equaliser.
Shay Given claims Arsenal were ‘lucky’ to score vs Man City
After a fairly balanced first half, the second period was dramatically different, as Man City sat back and tried to protect their one-goal lead.
In the dying moments of the game, Guardiola’s side broke into the Arsenal half for a rare attack of their own, with their defensive line stepping up.
When the Gunners won the ball back, they took full advantage of the space in behind, with Martinelli latching onto Eberechi Eze’s through ball and lobbing Gianluigi Donnarumma.
However, speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day 2, former Man City goalkeeper Shay Given claimed that Arsenal were lucky in getting their equaliser, and didn’t have the ability to break through while City were sitting in a low block.
“Man City were really very deep, we don’t see that often. Everyone was behind the ball and defending the box. They were asking, do Arsenal have the answers? Can they break through the lines? Can they break us down?
“I don’t think Arsenal were good enough to break them down today, I really don’t. I think they got lucky with the goal.”
Arsenal look to fend off Real Madrid interest in star
Meanwhile, Arsenal are drawing up a William Saliba plan to overcome their slow contract talks and keep him long-term.
Sources told Football Insider on 16 September that there is a delay in contract discussions between Saliba and Arsenal.
At the end of the 2025-26 campaign, the 24-year-old will have just one year left on his contract, which has made the north London outfit uneasy over his commitment to the club.
However, sources say there is confidence within Arsenal that Saliba will eventually put pen to paper on a new deal, despite the delays.
For more Arsenal and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.