Nathan Ake’s goal in the second half gave Manchester City a 1-0 victory over Premier League title rivals Arsenal on Friday in a crucial FA Cup fourth round match at the Etihad Stadium.
In a game with few clear-cut opportunities, Ake’s second goal of the season, which came in the 64th minute after Julian Alvarez, the replacement, had hit the post with a shot, broke the scoreless tie.
Arsenal are left to concentrate on their quest for a first Premier League championship in 19 years as City advances to the round of 16 for the eighth consecutive season. The two clubs will square off again in the league on February 15. Mikel Arteta’s squad now leads City by five points and has a game in hand.
Arsenal has been defeated by City in their past six encounters in all competitions.
“Tight game, better second half,” Guardiola said to ITV Sport. “very challenging foe.
No one in the locker room is not overjoyed for him (Ake), I promise you that. We are pleased with the goal and the way he handled [Bukayo] Saka, now one of the Premier League’s most dangerous players.
“You want players like Nathan as a manager. All the nice things in life are due to him.
Unlike Arteta, who made six changes to the team that defeated Manchester United on Sunday, Pep Guardiola just made two changes to his City lineup: Ake was substituted for Aymeric Laporte at the back and Stefan Ortega took Ederson’s place in goal.
Along with Kieran Tierney starting in goal in place of Oleksandr Zinchenko, a former Man City left defender, and American international Matt Turner, Leandro Trossard made his debut for Arsenal.
Arsenal got the best of the first 45 minutes despite altering more than half of their lineup. And all of his side’s finest future movements had Trossard at their core.
After only five minutes, Takehiro Tomiyasu’s excellent effort down the left prompted a shot from the advancing player that necessitated a diving stop from Ortega. Later in the half, when Trossard attempted to score on his own with a powerful left-footed drive that was put away one-handed, the City backup was once more called into action.
The finest opportunity, though, came when Eddie Nketiah missed the chance to build on his remarkable goal-scoring trend by misfiring with a six-yard volley of Torssard’s cross beyond.
City’s only significant threat at the other end came from straight balls to Haaland. Following a mistake by Rob Holding, Turner was quick off his line to stop the dynamic forward from catching the ball, and a subsequent lobbed attempt missed the mark.
But as the second half got underway, City started to apply more pressure. And shortly before the hour mark, a double replacement proved crucial in breaking the tie.
World Cup champion Alvarez fired a 25-yard shot just minutes after walking onto the field, but it deflected off the foot of the goal post. When the ball rebounded, Jack Grealish did a good job of picking it up and eluding players before passing it to Ake, who finished skillfully past Turner and into the far corner with his weaker right foot.
Granit Xhaka’s tempting cross almost immediately set up Nketiah for a close-range finish, but Laporte, who came on for the injured John Stones in the first half, produced a remarkable last-ditch save to save that.
In the latter minutes, the visitors came back hard and pressed for an equaliser that would have necessitated a replay, but City’s defence, and Ortega in goal in particular, were up to the task.
We could have gotten considerably more out of the game, according to Arteta. “One decision altered everything.
“Although it is very challenging to defeat this squad, we competed with them. You have to make the difference in crucial situations and crucial games. You win these games in that manner.”