'Immediately' Holland
Manchester City bowed 0-1 to Arsenal in the 8th round of the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) season held at the Emirates Stadium in London, England at 12:30 a.m. on the 9th (Korean time). With this day's loss, Man City (18 points, 6 wins, 2 losses, 17 goals, 6 losses, +11) fell to 3rd place.
In the last round, Coach Guardiola lost to Wolverhampton (1-2 loss) by conceding a goal to Hwang Hee-chan, whom he called 'Korean Guy'. It was a huge shock as they suffered consecutive losses following the England Football League Cup (EFL Cup) match against Newcastle United (0-1 loss). Fortunately, the mood turned around with a victory against Leipzig (3-1 win) in the UEFA Champions League (UCL). The last game before the international break. Manchester City aimed for consecutive wins in away games against Arsenal.
Both teams had bad news. Arsenal's Bukayo Saka left due to injury, and Manchester City's Rodri was sent off. Arsenal featured Leandro Trossar, Gabriel Jesus, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, and David Raya. Manchester City featured Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic, and Ederson.
The first half ended without a goal. After entering the second half, the two teams played a game-winning match through substitution cards. Arsenal brought in Gabriel Martinelli, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey. Manchester City added John Stones, Matheus Nunes, and Jeremy Doku.
At the end of the game, the balance was finally broken. The winner was Arsenal. Arsenal's attack started with a long ball heading forward in the 41st minute of the second half. After going through Tomiyas and Havertz, Martinelli took the chance. The attempted shot was deflected and hit the net.
As a result, Manchester City bowed to Arsenal, who had been particularly strong so far. Controversy arose after the game ended. Walker and Holland, who were leaving the ground, collided with Arsenal staff. Britain's 'The Sun' highlighted, "Halland and Walker clashed with Arsenal coach Nicolas Jober on a set piece. Security separated the two sides, but both players were very angry."
Coach Guardiola avoided explaining the scene. According to the British public broadcaster BBC, Guardiola smiled and replied, "I know what happened, but I won't say anything. They (Arsenal) know." Walker wrote on social media, "It's an unacceptable losing streak. We need to correct the situation and get back together," while Haaland also said, "It's not the direction we wanted before the international break, but we will get back up like we always have."