Mikel Arteta said it is a ‘miracle’ how 10-man Arsenal performed to earn a 2-2 draw at Manchester City on Sunday.
Arsenal were forced to play the entire second half with 10 men after Leandro Trossard was sent off in first-half stoppage time, after receiving a second booking for kicking the ball away. The Belgium was dismissed for delaying the restart, with Arsenal leading 2-1 at the Etihad.
Erling Haaland had opened the scoring for Manchester City with his 100th goal for the Citizens, racing onto Savinho’s pass to prod past David Raya. Arsenal showed character to respond, with Riccardo Calafiori’s brilliant goal on his full debut levelling for the North Londoners.
Arteta’s team took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Gabriel headed in from a set-piece, though Trossard’s red card moments later swung the momentum of the clash.
Arsenal dug deep to hold out until the 98th-minute, when John Stones scrambled in an equaliser for the home side to rescue a result. Despite the deflation at conceding a last-gasp equaliser, Arteta spoke of his pride at Arsenal’s display and said it was a ‘miracle’ how his team performed.
Arteta ‘so proud’ of Arsenal performance
“I am so proud of the team. We played the game in a difficult context. Playing against the best team in the world,” Arteta said to BBC Match of the Day.
“After what happened we went 2-1 up – it was a different story and I prefer not to make any comment about that [Leandro Trossard’s red card].
“Obviously, it is already a miracle we played 56 minutes at the Etihad with 10 men. It is unbelievable what we have done.
“It is obvious what happened when they made that decision, but it doesn’t deserve my comment. I don’t want to ruin anything else off the pitch.”
