Ten-man Arsenal came within a minute of claiming their first win at the Etihad Stadium since 2015, but a late equaliser from John Stones meant we had to settle for a point after an incredible performance.

A crazy first 45 minutes saw Erling Haaland put the hosts ahead in the ninth minute, but we fought back and equalised after a rocket-like goal from Riccardo Calafiori on his debut as a regular starter, before Gabriel headed in another corner to put us ahead.

However, in the last second of the first half, Leandro Trossard was sent off with a second yellow card for delaying the restart, meaning we had to play with ten men for 45 minutes.

Despite the relentless pressure, we held on in all of those games and scored at the end of the half in six of the other seven, but John Stones struggled to equalise and deny a famous victory.

Goals on both sides

An early warning sign was when Ilkay Gundogan spun past Gabriel and got into position to volley, but he missed by a wide margin. However, we fell behind in the ninth minute.

Savinho left Calafiori behind, broke through the midfield and played a pass behind our back line that Haaland ran onto. He charged towards goal and slotted the ball past David Raya, reaching double figures in just five league games.

We were under pressure in the early stages and Gundogan hit a free-kick against the post as City tried to score a second goal, but they suffered a setback when Rodri was forced off with a knee injury after 20 minutes following a minor collision with Thomas Partey.

And we quickly capitalised on that because when play resumed, a quickly taken free kick from Partey surprised City. Gabriel Martinelli was able to get to the edge of the box and lay the ball back to Calafiori, who fired a superb shot into the top corner from 20 yards that left Ederson empty-handed.

Gabi comes to the fore

This made the game more even and we had two great chances towards the end. Firstly, the captain of the day, Bukayo Saka, took a corner into the box and Gabriel was able to score, but unlike at Tottenham a week ago, he was unable to direct his shot properly on goal.

The Brazilian defender then linked up with fellow countryman Martinelli on the left and the winger played the ball back into a dangerous area in the box, but under pressure from a City defender, Trossard tipped it over the bar.

And the pressure was felt in first-half stoppage time when Big Gabi scored his goal this time in almost identical fashion. Saka sent another devilish corner into the box and for the second time in a row, our defender jumped highest to fire the ball into the net and turn the game on its head.

With your back to the wall

But just before half-time, the game took a different turn. Trossard, who had been cautioned earlier, challenged Bernardo Silva and cleared the ball just moments after Michael Oliver had blown his whistle. The referee judged this to be a time-wasting move, sent the Belgian off and left us trying to defend our lead with a man down for 45 minutes.

As expected, the second half began with an attack on our goal. Mateo Kovacic, Manuel Akanji and Kyle Walker all tried their luck from distance, but to no avail. David Raya cleverly deflected a Haaland header and Bernardo Silva fired the ball over the bar.

But a Red wall stood deep and solid, continuing to limit Pep Guardiola’s team’s long-range attempts as each minute ticked away. Josko Gvardial tried his luck next, forcing Raya to twice clear the ball out of the danger zone with two powerful shots.

LATE BLOW

It remained a do or die affair, with our players throwing everything into City’s line of fire and running to keep them at bay. Early in seven minutes of added time, Myles Lewis-Skelly came on for his debut for the Gunners.

But in the final minute City finally found a way through. From a corner, Jack Grealish sent the ball flat into the box and a clearance bounced into the path of Stones, who slammed the ball home and denied us the win. But that couldn’t take away from our incredible performance to maintain our unbeaten streak.

What happens next?

We turn our attention to the Carabao Cup on Wednesday when Bolton Wanderers visit the Emirates Stadium for the first of four consecutive matches, with Leicester City following them on Saturday before the Champions League returns to N5 with the visit of Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday 1 October.