Happy New Year! Welcome to Apex Football Match LIVE! No matter where you are, Apex Football sincerely hope you can have a very great new year! Ready to welcome the first big game in 2022? Let’s have a quick look at every update!
Live Updates
FULL TIME! The Arsenal players are on the floor, while Man City celebrate a big win which takes them 11 points clear at the top of the table!
90+3′ GOAL! Arsenal 1-2 Man City (Rodri, 90+3)
Arsenal’s spirit is broken!
The ball is clipped forward and Laporte gambles.
His shot is blocked by White but the ball drops kindly for Rodri, who pokes the ball home to spark wild celebrations from the visitors.
Rodri celebrates right in front of the Arsenal fans and objects rain down on him by the corner flag!
87′: SAVE! White flicks a deep cross away from goal, but the ball drops to Sterling.
He gets a shot away from a tight angle, but the ball takes a flick off Tomiyasu, and Ramsdale makes a comfortable save.
Now Mahrez’s shot takes a deflection and crashes into the side netting.
69: YELLOW! Holding brings down De Bruyne and the Arsenal frustration continues as the substitute is booked.
68′: YELLOW! Just a bit of house keeping…
Saka was booked for a bit too much chat to the referee when Rodri fouled Lacazette a few moments ago,
The England international was asking for a second yellow for the City midfielder, but the referee didn’t take too kindly to it.
66′: OVER! Sterling nips inside Tomiyasu, but he can only fire a shot high over the crossbar.
59′: RED CARD! GABRIEL SENT OFF FOR ARSENAL!!!
An incredible few minutes. Gabriel was booked in the aftermath of the penalty incident and then he stops a Jesus counter on half-way. Stuart Attwell gets the second yellow out. This game has gone potty. Arsenal down to 10.
58′: WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE?????
Laporte loops a header over the onrushing Ederson and Ake is forced to rush back and clear off the line.
However, he can only clear as far as Martinelli, who can only slice his shot wide of the near post. He basically had an own goal!
What a passage of play, but City survive!
57′ GOAL!!! Arsenal 1-1 Man City (Mahrez pen)
Up steps Mahrez and the big delay doesn’t affect him!
he emphatically slots the penalty, sending Ramsdale the wrong way!
Game on!!
55: PENALTY TO MAN CITY! The referee has overturned the decision…
Xhaka has been booked for the tackle.
Arsenal are not happy about this and are probably asking the referee about their appeals for a first half penalty.
53: NO PENALTY! Bernardo Silva goes down under a challenge from Xhaka, but the referee waves away the appeals of the Manchester City players.
However, VAR will take a look at this…
51: CHANCE! From the resultant corner the ball drops kindly for Martinelli just inside the Man City penalty area.
However, the Brazilian fails to make a clean connection with his attempted volley.
Arsenal do get the ball back as Saka swing in a cross but City hold firm.
HALF TIME! A final chance for City to test the Arsenal defence as Mahrez stands over a free kick in a dangerous area, but the winger’s cross can only pick out Lacazette, who heads clear.
The half time whistle then sounds and it is greeted by a huge roar from the home fans. They’ve enjoyed that performance from Arsenal, who lead thank to Bukayo Saka’s goal.
It’s a deserved lead for the Gunners, but City have had their chances with the best one falling to Ruben Dias, who glanced a header wide.
It’s been a superb game so far and let’s hope for more of the same after the break.
43: WIDE! What a run from Martinelli, who skips past Cancelo.
He drives into the box and gets past Dias, but Cancelo gets back and then doesn’t, as Martinelli gets a shot away.
He pokes the ball past Ederson, but wide of the far post.
31′ GOAL!! It’s Saka again! And what a lovely goal!
The passing is superb from the Gunners.
They work the ball from right to left to Tierney, who picks his head up and slides the ball into the path of Saka, who sweeps the ball past Ederson and into the bottom corner for his seventh of the season.
30′: This has been City’s best chance so far! Dias should have buried it.
20′: CLOSE! Tomiyasu points to the space in behind the City defence and White obliges.
The full back plays a testing first time cross into the penalty area, but Ake is there to head clear.
Good defending from the Dutchman!
19′: WIDE! The ball finds its way to De Bruyne on the edge of the penalty area and the Belgium international wraps his boot around the ball, sending it towards goal.
You immediately expect the net to bulge, but there’s just not enough bend on the ball to bring it back into the top corner!
9′: Already 78 per cent of the ball for Man City, who are trying to suffocate the Gunners.
7: CLOSE! Arsenal win the ball back through Tomiyasu and they spring forward as White goes direct.
Lacazette and Saka both give chase but the ball skips off the turf and into the arms of Ederson, who was quickly off his line.
5: WIDE! Another let off for the Gunners!
They don’t react to City’s short corner, which allows De Bruyne to pick out his cross under no pressure. He finds Jesus, who gets above Gabriel, but the striker can only head wide.
4′: CHANCE! An early warning for Arsenal…
De Bruyne slides the ball past White and into the path of Sterling. However, Gabriel comes across well to mop up the danger.
1′ Arsenal 0-0 Man City
KICK-OFF! The visitors get us underway…
Countdown to kick off!
What a game to get 2022 underway!
Arsenal Line-ups
Arsenal, with manager Mikel Arteta watching from home while self-isolating due to Covid-19, show just one alteration from their 5-0 victory at Norwich as Takehiro Tomiyasu returnes following his own bout of Covid-19 to replace Rob Holding.
Man City Line-ups
Joao Cancelo keeps his place in the Manchester City side to face Arsenal despite being assaulted during a burglary at his home.
The Portugal full-back suffered facial injuries during the attack on Thursday but stayed in the side as Pep Guardiola makes three changes with City going in search of an 11th consecutive Premier League win.
Fernandinho, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish drop out – with Foden not among the substitutes – as Rodri, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling come in.
Match Tips
Man City love a trip to Arsenal…
Man City have won each of their last four away league games against Arsenal, by an aggregate score of 9-0.
It’s as many victories as City had picked up in their previous 50 league visits to Highbury/Emirates Stadium combined (W4 D14 L32)
Tomiyasu reunited with his defensive axis…
“The Arsenal back four is reunited. Mikel Arteta, who is of course watching from home after testing positive for Covid, has made just one change from the Boxing Day thrashing of Norwich. And it’s a popular one with Takehiro Tomiyasu returning at right-back, meaning Rob Holding misses out.”
Can Arsenal find the net against City?
Arsenal have failed to score in their last five Premier League games against Man City – only against Chelsea (6 between 2013 and 2016) and Liverpool (6 between 1997 and 2000) have the Gunners failed to score in more consecutive league games against an opponent.
Don’t hesitate to refresh your page anytime you want – always big updates during the match!
Match Preview
Manchester City will be bidding to take a double digit lead at the top of the Premier League as they bring the curtain up on 2022’s English game away to Arsenal. With Chelsea and Liverpool facing off the following day, the trip to the Emirates Stadium offers the reigning champions the opportunity to carve out yet more daylight between them and the chasing pack, turning what threatened to be a three team scrap into something of a procession.
Pep Guardiola’s side have an exceptional record against the red half of north London in the top flight, but he would be the first to admit that this Arsenal might offer his toughest test yet with the Gunners riding high in fourth place. Here is what you need to know:
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Jan. 1 | Time: 12:30 p.m. UTC
Location: Emirates Stadium — London
Odds: Arsenal +480; Draw +33; Manchester City -188 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Storylines
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta, the man whose diagnosis with COVID-19 in March 2020 brought English football to an abrupt halt in a matter of hours, will be missing from the sidelines again on Saturday after testing positive for the virus once more. He is not the only member of Arsenal’s coaching staff who has been isolating with assistant Albert Stuivenberg to lead from the dugout with his boss keeping in touch over audio equipment. For one of the league’s most hands on coaches it will be tough to be miles away from the action.
“I never experienced what I’m going experience tomorrow but it’s what it is,” he said. “It’s going to be easy to feel frustrated and with a lack of options because of not being in training sessions, not being able to prepare things like you want, to pass the message like you want, to have the players feeling that you are next to them. It’s a different experience. But we have to adapt to it and we have tried to do that the best possible way to get well prepared for tomorrow.”
Manchester City: Relatively free of COVID-19 and with a squad so deep Guardiola was able to make no changes in victory over Brentford last time out, City look to be in menacing mood, seemingly keen to squash any dreams of a title race and get the league wrapped up swiftly. They will surely feel at home at the Emirates, where they have won their last four league matches, scoring inside the opening two minutes in their last two trips down the Holloway Road.
Raheem Sterling has often been Arsenal’s tormentor, with eight goals and three assists against the Gunners. The England international returns to London in fine form and has scored in his last four Premier League matches. He and his team mates are determined not to take their foot off the gas. “It has been a decent start so far,” Sterling said. “We need to keep the focus and go into the new year with the same mentality. We need to keep going and that is all we can do.”
Prediction
Arsenal are a better team than the one trampled under foot by City at the start of this season but not so good that they can expect anything more than a defeat. PICK: Arsenal 0 Man City 2
Apex Football News 