Arsenal 1-2 Man City: Player ratings as late Rodri strike downs 10-man Gunners

Manchester City had to come from behind on Saturday as a stoppage time strike from Rodri handed them a 2-1 win away at Arsenal.

Both sides began with real energy. Gabriel Jesus headed wide after just a few minutes, and City avoided a scare of their own after ten minutes when VAR declined to overturn a potential foul from Ederson on Martin Odegaard in the box.

While City enjoyed more possession and more chances, it was Arsenal who felt more threatening. The Gunners pressed high and unsettled City's back line, preventing Pep Guardiols'a side from really getting going, and they got their deserved breakthrough on the half-hour mark.

A drilled cross from Kieran Tierney landed at the feet of Bukayo Saka, who brushed the ball past Ederson and into the back of the net.

Gabriel Martinelli had an excellent chance to make it two shortly before the break, dragging his shot agonisingly wide after a glorious solo run.

City were gifted the chance to get back into the game shortly after the break when VAR chose to award a penalty following a tangle between Granit Xhaka and Bernardo Silva, and Riyad Mahrez made no mistake from 12 yards to tie things up.

We then had the most mental 60 seconds of the season. Aymeric Laporte headed past Ederson, Nathan Ake cleared off the line, Gabriel Martinelli missed the resulting sitter and then Gabriel Magalhaes - who was booked for scuffing the penalty spot moments earlier - was shown a second yellow card for a cynical foul and sent off from the restart. And breathe.

Predictably, the game turned into defence vs attack, with City continuously knocking on the door and Arsenal turning them away with very little concern.

As it looked like the points would be shared, up popped Rodri with a scrappy finish in the 93rd minute to snatch the victory for City.

Arsenal player ratings

1. Goalkeeper & defenders

Aaron Ramsdale (GK) - 6/10 - Commanded his box well without ever really needing to get involved. Unlucky to lose his clean sheet.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (RB) - 8/10 - Tasked with neutralising Sterling, Tomiyasu absolutely smashed it.

Ben White (CB) - 7/10 - Brave stepping out from the back but was noticeably struggling against City's agility in attack. Looked happier dropping back after the red card.

Gabriel Magalhaes (CB) - 4/10 - Such an impressive first half but his sending off was inexcusable. Shown one yellow for tampering with the penalty spot and then foolishly dragged Jesus down for his second soon after.

Kieran Tierney (LB) - 8/10 - A typically excellent assist from Tierney and some really composed defending.

2. Midfielders

Granit Xhaka (DM) - 5/10 - A solid first half but a little sloppy in giving away the penalty. Seemed to lose composure after that.

Thomas Partey (DM) - 9/10 - A real force in defence but looked like a man possessed going forward. A statement showing.

Bukayo Saka (RM) - 7/10 - A constant menace down the right and an excellent strike to open the scoring.

Martin Odegaard (AM) - 6/10 - Unlucky not to win a penalty but managed to impact the game in other ways. Composed in possession against City's press before being withdrawn after the red card.

Gabriel Martinelli (LM) - 7/10 - Wasn't scared of Cancelo at all and used his energy to terrorise City's back line. Missed an absolute sitter but didn't let that bother him.

3. Forward

Alexandre Lacazette (ST) - 6/10 - Another game spent unlocking his team-mates with clever movement and energy. So selfless before being withdrawn after the red card.

4. Substitutes

Rob Holding (CB) - 6/10 - Did his job as an extra body. Looks good with hair.

Emile Smith Rowe (AM) - 6/10 - Ran around a lot in defence and never really got the chance to show out in attack.

Mohamed Elneny (CM) - N/A

Man City player ratings

5. Goalkeeper & defenders

Ederson (GK) - 6/10 - Made some nice saves to keep City in the game early on.

Joao Cancelo (RB) - 4/10 - Really off it here, but understandable given events of the last few days. Didn't enjoy having to keep up with Martinelli.

Ruben Dias (CB) - 5/10 - Found it hard to keep up with Arsenal's energy.

Aymeric Laporte (CB) - 3/10 - Got in Jesus' way for an early header, nearly headed past Ederson himself and didn't get enough on a backpass either. Not on it at all.

Nathan Ake (LB) - 4/10 - Absolutely ruined by Saka, who he lost for the opening goal, but he deserves some credit for bailing out Laporte with a goal-line clearance.

6. Midfielders

Rodri (DM) - 6/10 - Neutralised by Arsenal's midfield but popped up when it mattered to save the day.

Kevin De Bruyne (CM) - 4/10 - Barely even noticed he was on the pitch before the red card.

Bernardo Silva (CM) - 5/10 - Definitely went looking for the penalty and that was about all he actually did.

7. Forwards

Riyad Mahrez (RW) - 7/10 - Another classy penalty. So reliable in front of goal.

Gabriel Jesus (ST) - 4/10 - Didn't get involved at all before being withdrawn. Smart for Gabriel's second yellow but that's about it.

Raheem Sterling (LW) - 5/10 - Got into some decent positions but really struggled up against Tomiyasu.

8. Substitutes

Ilkay Gundogan (CM) - 5/10 - Didn't get involved as much as he would have liked.