Arsenal vs Man City player ratings: Bukayo Saka shines despite late Gunners defeat

Arsenal 1-2 Man City: Saka struck first before Mahrez’s penalty after the restart and a late, late Rodrigo winner

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Arsenal suffered a late 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in an entertaining New Year’s Day clash in the Premier League.

The Gunners made a fast start as they looked to build on their good recent form, though it was City who almost opened the scoring as Ruben Dias nodded a cross just wide.

When the breakthrough came it was at the other end, a low finish from Bukayo Saka, while Gabriel Martinelli almost curled in a second before the interval.

After the break it was a rapid turnaround though: Granit Xhaka fouled Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez netted the resulting penalty, before Gabriel Magalhaes was sent-off for two yellow cards in the space of a few minutes shortly afterwards. It looked as though Arsenal would hold on, but Rodrigo struck late on to seal a City win.

Here are the player ratings from the game at the Emirates.

Arsenal

Aaron Ramsdale, 6. Lucky to not concede when caught under a floated cross to Dias, who headed wide. Some commanding aerial claims but beaten late on.

Takehiro Tomiyasu, 7. Very solid as usual, stopped Sterling and De Bruyne several times in the first half.

Benjamin White, 7. Outfoxed by an early De Bruyne through-ball but recovered well and was consistently well-placed. Just couldn’t deal with the final, late ball after a deflection.

Gabriel, 6. Excellent passing out, two good clearances in the first half and then...wrecked it all in about three minutes. Booked for scuffing the penalty spot, then again for a foul moments later.

Keiran Tierney, 7. Assisted the opening goal with a fine pass infield and was always a good outlet for the Gunners.

Thomas Partey, 8. An imposing presence in the middle, winning possession and distributing with quality.

Granit Xhaka, 6. Clumsy and completely needless challenge to give away a penalty which started to turn the game.

Bukayo Saka, 8. Tremendous finish for the opener after another influential performance. A huge crowd favourite and no wonder after a game of work rate, ball-carrying brilliance and moments of creativity.

Martin Odegaard, 7. Thought he had won a first-half penalty but had to be content with being a regular conduit for the counter-attack. Subbed after the red.

Gabriel Martinelli, 7. Lively in bursts and one great solo run almost led to a second goal before the break. Simply had to score the rebound with Ederson out of the goal in the second half, though.

Alexandre Lacazette, 8. Set the tone for Arsenal’s first-half show with his pressing and movement. Really clever on the ball even though he was rarely an actual goal threat himself.

Subs: Rob Holding 6, Emile Smith Rowe 6, Mohamed Elneny n/a.

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Man City

Ederson, 6. Just about escaped a penalty call, being closed down after a heavy touch and being lobbed by his own defender’s back header. No chance on the goal.

Joao Cancelo, 6. A much quieter game than recent form suggested might be the case, but given recent external events that’s probably not surprising.

Ruben Dias, 7. Hit and miss against the pace and movement Arsenal showed in attack but ultimately managed to cut out several important balls into the box.

Aymeric Laporte, 6. Nearly an own goal with a dreadful back header over Ederson, while also lost his man twice for huge Arsenal chances.

Nathan Ake, 7. Nominally the left-back, but a third central option in possession and didn’t roam forward much - but a wonderful goalline clearance.

Rodrigo, 8. Some fantastic challenges in his own half of the pitch and as excellent as ever on the ball. Vital to the team not falling more than a single goal behind and a very late winner.

Kevin de Bruyne, 7. Spent much of the first half drifting out to the left and didn’t pull as many strings as a fantastic third-minute pass hinted he might. More involved after the restart as he played higher and more centrally. Great late cross for the goal.

Bernardo Silva, 7. Fiesty and industrious, clever and quick-footed in turn. Not a wildly creative showing from him but still won the penalty.

Raheem Sterling, 7. Good pace and ball-carrying down the left flank, but no real route to goal provided to or by him.

Gabriel Jesus, 6. Busy and hard-working but not too much on-the-ball impact after an early effort wide. Involved in the red card and subbed soon after.

Riyad Mahrez, 5. Very little first-half impact but started the second by thumping in a penalty. Not much else thereafter.

Subs: Ilkay Gundogan 5.