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Gary Neville has claimed Liverpool is the real winner from Sunday’s Premier League meeting between Manchester City and Arsenal.
The title contenders drew 1-1 at the Emirates in a tense match that yielded few chances. Erling Haaland put the visitors ahead in the early stages, with City opting to make several defensive introductions in an attempt to stifle Arsenal in the final stages.
Pep Guardiola introduced Nathan Ake in place of Phil Foden, replaced Haaland with Nico Gonzalez, and also brought on John Stones in the second period. It resulted in City having just 32.8 percent possession, the lowest-ever from a Guardiola side.
Yet it was an Arsenal change that made all the difference. Gabriel Martinelli popped up with a dramatic equalizer in injury time, as he lobbed the ball over Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net.
It means the points were shared, and after the pre-match discussion centered around how neither could afford to lose further ground on leaders Liverpool, neither City nor Arsenal were pleased with the outcome.
Instead, according to Neville, it’ss a result that suits Liverpool best. “Pep Guardiola shrugs his shoulders,” the former Manchester United right-back said after the game.
“He decided about 25 or 30 minutes out from the end of the game how he was going to win it, and he almost got there. That was a slug-fest. Liverpool may be the winners of this result.”
The result leaves Liverpool five points clear at the Premier League summit after just five games. City, meanwhile, trails its old foes by eight points at this early juncture.
The Reds strengthened their position on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby. The victory means Arne Slot’s side has won all five Premier League matches this season.
Speaking post-match, Guardiola claimed the schedule had impacted his approach on Sudnay, with City having less than 72 hours to prepare for the game following the midweek Champions League win over Napoli.
“Of course, the schedule has an effect,” he told Sky Sports. “Your mindset has to be strong.
"You know how many injuries we have and players come back from the national team for a long time. We have [Rayan] Cherki, we have [Rayan] Ait-Nouri .
"A lot of players, maybe you forget the rhythm is always easier in this kind of position. In the case that we have, we don't have it.
“Many things can happen but if you want to bring that our complaint is the schedule - then okay.”
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