It was the clash of the knockout stages of the FA Cup between the two best teams in the Kingdom.
In a balanced match where Arsenal could have opened the scoring in the first half, it was Manchester City who took the upper hand in the second half thanks to Aké (1-0).
For this meeting, Pep Guardiola had not turned too much, trusting the team which had dominated Tottenham (4-2) then Wolverhampton (3-0).
Conversely, Mikel Arteta lined up a mixed team with Odegaard and Martinelli on the bench in particular.
To discover
SERVICES
- PMU: take advantage of 275 euros by betting on the Prix d'Amérique 2023
Premier League fixtures and results
Premier League standings
And it was the Gunners who entered the match perfectly with a very active Trossard on the left.
Arrived this winter, the Belgian was celebrating his first tenure with Arsenal and he came close to being decisive from the start but Tomiyasu could not convert his center (5th).
Shaken, the Citizens reacted through Haaland who tried a return (9th), without success.
Better in place and technically more accurate, the Gunners got the big chance in the first half through Trossard, again him, but the Belgian's cross shot was magnificently repelled by Ortega (21st), City's starting goalkeeper in the Cup .
Feverish, Guardiola's men relied on De Bruyne but his shot from the left licked the right post of Turner (25th).
City accelerates in second
It was written then that the second period would be very different.
Manchester City came back more conquering, technically fairer.
The Skyblues cornered the Gunners in their camp and the London defense ended up cracking.
Following a strike from Alvarez pushed back by Turner's post, Grealish recovered and transmitted to Aké who opened the scoring from the right (1-0, 64').
Better physically, the Citizens then managed their lead despite the entries of Odegaard and Martinelli on the Gunners side, but the latter were unable to create a final chance.
City therefore qualifies for the knockout stages of the FA Cup and Arsenal will now be able to focus on the Premier League and the Europa League.
