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FA Cup | Manchester City eliminate Arsenal and qualify for the Round of 16

Manchester City wins the first round! Of the three duels that will be fought by Citizens and Gunners by the end of the season, Pep Guardiola’s men took the advantage in the first of them by winning (1-0) in the round of 16 of the FA Cup against the Premier League leader thanks to a goal by Nathan Aké (64th). The match will have purred for a long time and if Leandro Trossard struggled for his first tenure in his new colors, Arsenal will have had little success in shaking up the Skyblues defense like a transparent Eddie Nketiah. The two teams will meet again on February 15, this time with the title of champion of England in sight.

It is the duel that keeps all of England in suspense. Who from Arsenal or Manchester City will go for the Premier League title? If the two teams still have to face each other twice in the league, the fault of a postponed match, a first confrontation was therefore scheduled for the fourth round of the FA Cup. And it was the Citizens who made an impression.

The beginnings of Trossard

Only Leandro Trossard during three sequences will have really endangered Stefan Ortega and his family. The Belgian first served Tomiyasu whose shot forced the Skyblues German goalkeeper to relax (5th) then tried his luck with a cross shot himself, repelled again by the opposing goalkeeper (21st) before overflow on the left side to find Nketiah at the near post, without success (33rd). Meanwhile, on the other side of the pitch, Rob Holding struggled to contain the Norwegian cyborg and if Haaland failed to score, he will have long been testing the Arsenal defence. A defense that the return of William Saliba greatly relieved.

But even the reinforcement of the French defender could not avoid the opening of the score of the Citizens. Shortly after the hour mark, Julian Alvarez, served at the entrance to the area, was able to turn around quietly before triggering a cross shot which hit the right upright of Matt Turner. Jack Grealish then recovered the ball in the area, delayed then served Aké who skillfully slipped the leather out of reach of the Gunners goalkeeper (64th). A goal that rewarded the mastery of Pep Guardiola’s men in this meeting. Because if Mikel Arteta had indeed turned his starting lineup, Nketiah’s performance or the contribution of his substitutes against the (almost) typical City team will surely give the Spanish technician something to think about.

Guardiola’s former assistant at the Mancunian club now has three weeks not to let this defeat enter the minds of his players before the second act of the final clash between his team and that of his former mentor.

Leandro Trossard

Credit: Getty Images

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