John Stones’ late goal dramatic equaliser rescued Manchester City in a thrilling 2-2 draw against 10-man Arsenal at the Eithad Stadium on Sunday.
The Gunners thought they had done enough to seal their first victory at the Etihad since January 2015 but Stones prodded home a 97th minute equaliser to deny them top spot.
Erling Haaland gave the hosts the lead after nine minutes, but goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes put the Gunners in front before the break.
Leandro Trossard was sent off at the end of a chaotic first-half and shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away and delaying the restart.
In a tensed second half where Arsenal stood strong, City finally broke the door to haul back the side that pushed them all the way last season.
After being shut out by Inter Milan midweek, Haaland was back on the scoresheet with his 100th goal in his 105th game in City blue.
Fed through by Savinho’s excellent throw ball, the Norwegian stared down David Raya in goal before coolly toe-poking the ball past the Gunners shot stopper.
City’s joy was replaced by concern after 16 minutes with Rodri forced off with what looked to be a serious knee injury.
The Spain international jarred his right knee horribly inside his own box and was seen fighting back tears as he received treatment on the pitch before limping off.
Calalfiori’s wonderful strike on his full debut after 22 minutes levelled things for Arsenal with Pep Guardiola booting his chair in the dugout in frustration.
His misery was compounded just before the break when Gabriel, just as he did in last week’s north London derby against Tottenham, rose to slam home a commanding header from Bukayo Saka’s cross.
Declan Rice was back in the Arsenal midfield having missed that Derby win, shown a red card for delaying the restart against Brighton before the international break.
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