IAN LADYMAN: Could this be the birth of the PL's next big rivalry?

IAN LADYMAN: Could this be the birth of the Premier League’s next big rivalry? Arsenal may have come up short against Manchester City this time… but there is more to come from these two further down the tracks

• The Gunners had been top of the table virtually all season prior to this night 
• City, used to dictating big domestic games when it matters, were not allowed to
• Their possession percentage stood at less than 40 per cent at half-time 

Edgy, thrilling, unpredictable. Occasionally antagonistic. Manchester City presented daylight between themselves and Arsenal by the end but at times during an absorbing game, this felt like the night a new and modern Premier League rivalry took another big step forward.

Arsenal had been top of the table virtually all season prior to this night. Still, though, we wondered. Real deal or merely a team that had run hot?

Here, at an utterly absorbed and invested Emirates Stadium, they came up short and after one point taken from their last nine, they will maybe worry a little now. That is the kind of psychological challenge elite sport throws up. It’s easy when you are winning, less so when you are not.

But this, despite the final score line, was a contest not to settle an argument or even a title race. Instead it merely hinted at more to come from these two further down the tracks.

Manchester City, so used to dictating big domestic games when it matters, were not allowed to do so throughout here. That they somehow managed to win by two goals says everything for their own mental reserves.

Edgy, thrilling, unpredictable. Occasionally antagonistic. Manchester City presented daylight between themselves and Arsenal by the end

Arsenal had been top of the table virtually all season prior to this night. Still, though, we wondered. Real deal or merely a team running hot?

City’s possession percentage stood at less than 40 per cent at half-time. By then their goalkeeper Ederson had been booked for persistent time wasting while Bernardo Silva – seemingly playing two positions at once – was cautioned for persistent fouling of Bukayo Saka.

On the touchline Pep Guardiola, the City manager, gave a passable impression of a man trying to speed things up when it was clear his instructions to his team had been to slow them down. Not for the first time this month the league champions have been accused of doing one thing while claiming to have done quite another.

Here there was no Panic (on the streets of London). But there was some discomfort, some strain and the quite unusual experience of finding that so much of what was happening was being dictated by the other team. At times that strain showed. Only once they found a way to spend time consistently in Arsenal’s half in the final 30 minutes did they impose themselves in that classic cynical way we all recognise.

Arsenal’s next game, at Aston Villa on Saturday, now feels huge for sure. They will find an old manager, Unai Emery, in their way so no shortage of motivation there. If they lose again then a hiccup in form can quickly become a long and damaging malaise.

But let’s see. Here they were not cowed by the fact City could move next to them at the top of the league. Quite the opposite, in fact. Arsenal seemed motivated instead by opportunity and on a night like this that represents quite a mental shift.

Whatever happens between now and the season’s end, this should one day be viewed as a transformative campaign for Arsenal. It has been so long since Arsenal supporters have watched a team in which they believe. If the team doesn’t move forwards in to blue water from here then something will have gone very wrong. Indeed the fact that Emery stands before them on Saturday should actually make them pause. The Spaniard was Arteta’s predecessor and things were an awful lot more underwhelming when he was here.

City know how all of this works, of course. They won their first Premier League title in 2012 and then fell apart in a heap the next. They learned quickly from that. More than a decade on, persistent success has been built on deep reserves of quality but City under Guardiola have long been street fighters too.

Manchester City, so used to dictating big domestic games when it matters, were not allowed to do so here, even though they somehow managed to win by two clear goals

On the touchline Pep Guardiola, the City manager, gave a passable impression of a man trying to speed things up when it was clear his instructions to his team had been to slow them down

For long periods, especially in the first half, here they were second best. Guardiola’s team selection was odd. He left two central defenders on the bench and asked Silva to effectively play left back when Arsenal had the ball and holding midfield when they didn’t. The results of that experiment were pretty predictable and it was abandoned after an hour when Silva was moved to the right side of the attack. Like you do.

What is interesting and pertinent, though, is that amid all the chaos and uncertainty of this period in the game, City actually led. Arsenal created only half chances until the penalty that drew them level. While they were never fluent and while Erling Haaland at times looked isolated upfront, City presented enough nuisance value to make life far from simple for an opponent drawn into the kind of scrappy and bitty contest they didn’t want.

For the first hour at least, the Emirates was febrile. It has not always been like this in its 17 year lifespan. But when Kevin de Bruyne shoved Arteta in the chest on the touchline with the score at 1-1 it said everything for the tension running through the game at that point.

City were, it must be acknowledged, the better team for periods that ultimately mattered and that is what experience brings. They had a little fortune with their crucial second goal, a deflection taking it over Aaron Ramsdale’s hand when he seemed to have Jack Grealish’s shot covered.

But Guardiola’s team were not lucky here. No, they saw this game through like champions. They are top now and if they don’t stay there it will be a surprise. Arsenal look good enough to present an enduring challenge now, though, and that feels very important not only for them but for the English game.

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