The Gunners fought tooth and nail to secure a point despite playing the entirety of the second half with ten men after Leandro Trossard’s sending-off.
Another big talking point in the game was Rodri’s injury as the Spaniard was subbed off before the interval.
Manchester City’s worst fears seem to have come true as Pep Guardiola confirmed at a press conference yesterday that he is set to be out for a long time with a suspended ACL injury.
The Cityzens still lead the way at the top of the Premier League standings, but Craig Burley feels Arsenal can finally win the title this season after Rodri’s injury.
Craig Burley predicts Arsenal to win the Premier League title
Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes and Declan Rice of Arsenal form a defensive wall during the Premier League match between Manches...
Before the start of the 2024-25 campaign, Burley predicted Arsenal to win the title, with Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur occupying the rest of the top four in that order.
After Rodri’s injury and Arsenal’s hard-fought point at the Etihad, he doubled down on his claims, although he admitted that the Gunners need to be a bit more disciplined after already having two players sent off this season.
“I’m kind of sticking to what I said before,” said Burley on ESPN UK’s YouTube channel.
“Rodri’s injury is going to be a huge blow and I don’t think Arsenal have played at their best at the start of the season but I think they’re strong. If they don’t sort out their discipline, that will reverse for me.”
On the other hand, Jamie Carragher feels Man City will win the Premier League title even without Rodri as they have more quality than any other side in the league in the attacking areas.
Arsenal should take advantage of Rodri’s absence
Rodri is undoubtedly the best defensive midfielder in world football and Man City have to make do with the likes of Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan, at least until the January transfer window.
One could even argue that there isn’t a like-for-like replacement for him anywhere in the world, so it remains to be seen how Guardiola will react to his lengthy layoff.
Arsenal, meanwhile, should take great confidence from their 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium and build on it in the coming weeks.
They are only two points behind Man City in the Premier League standings and with Rodri set to be missing for the foreseeable future, Arteta will be licking his lips at the prospect of closing the gap at the top.
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