Arsenal were seconds away from securing a first Premier League win at Manchester City since 2015 in Sunday’s thrilling Premier League encounter before John Stones’ incredible 98th-minute equaliser made it 2-2.
Leandro Trossard’s red card just before half-time changed the pace of the game as Arsenal led 2-1 at the break.
Mikel Arteta opted to replace Bukayo Saka with Ben White as part of a plan to keep City at bay in the second half, in a bid to secure their first away win against Pep Guardiola.
Arsenal’s subsequent defensive effort stole the headlines, as 10 red shirts got behind the ball and frustrated City beyond the 90-minute mark.
The second-half stats at the Etihad Stadium reveal just how tenacious the Gunners were and how precise Arteta’s plan was to hold on.
A second-half xG of 0.09, compared to City’s 2.04, along with 10% possession and 21 successful defensive clearances.
As well as their incredible defensive performance, Arsenal were accused after the match of engaging in the dark arts of time-wasting, with goalkeeper David Raya as their chief antagonist.
The Spain international produced a superb performance, making eight saves in the second half, before being beaten by Stones’ close-range shot to end the game 2-2.
However, other figures surrounding his escapades have also been revealed via Optaas the goalkeeper looked to run down the clock in Manchester.
The average delay in the match was recorded at 42.7 seconds, which is incredibly not the Premier League record for this season, or even for this weekend.
Aston Villa’s 3-1 home win over Wolves the day before saw the average playing time rise to 47.3.
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There was a LOT of noise around Arsenal’s approach to Manchester City yesterday.
But how serious was their waste of time?@oliver_hopkins to all numbers ?⬇️
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 23, 2024
However, nothing could beat Raya’s slow goal kicking, as he set two new season records.
Averaging 45.3 seconds per kick, he broke new ground in individual kicking, and his 12 attempts totaled an impressive nine minutes and four seconds throughout the match, almost a minute more than the next best time.
