Arsenal duo set EMBARRASSING record in Man City draw

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 22 Sept 2024 19:32 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal were seconds away from sealing arguably the most hard-fought win in Premier League history on Sunday afternoon.

Erling Haaland’s opener for Manchester City was cancelled out by Riccardo Calafiori in the 22nd minute and Gabriel Magalhaes scored his second Premier League goal in as many games to put Mikel Arteta’s side 2-1 up in first-half stoppage time.

However, the game was flipped on its head when Leandro Trossard received a second yellow card for delaying the restart after his foul on Bernardo Silva.

READ MORE: 'DISGRACEFUL' - Arsenal fans fume after Trossard red card

In the second-half, Arsenal produced a defensive masterclass as they sat on the edge of their own penalty box and limited Man City to speculative long shots to no avail.

Just as it looked as though City would suffer their first home defeat since November 2022, John Stones stepped up to score a dramatic 98th minute equaliser.

Quick thinking from Jack Grealish saw Man City take a short corner and when Mateo Kovacic’s shot was blocked, Stones was on hand to seal a vital point for Pep Guardiola’s men.

READ MORE: Ornstein hails transformative Arsenal transfer as bid confirmed

Arsenal offered zero threat in the second-half, with just 12% possession in the second 45 minutes and only 35 passes in Man City’s half.

Timber and Havertz = 0% pass accuracy

Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz both sensationally failed to complete a single pass during the match.

Timber played 91 minutes before being taken off due to cramp, while Havertz lasted the entire game.

However, Timber was unable to register a successful pass from six attempts and Havertz failed to find a team-mate with all five of his passes.

They are the first two outfield players in history (since Opta records began) to have played 89+ minutes of a Premier League match and fail to complete a single pass.

By comparison, Ruben Dias completed 127 passes with an 87.8% accuracy, while Kyle Walker enjoyed a 93.3% accuracy with his 104 pass attempts.

Meanwhile, super sub Stones completed just one pass after coming on in the 77th minute, but he scored the crucial goal to keep Man City at the top of the Premier League table.