What Erling Haaland did to five Arsenal players shows he's better than ever

Manchester City drew 1-1 with Arsenal at the Emirates and were unable to hang on to an early lead given to them by Erling Haaland.

Manchester City had to settle for a point against Arsenal after Gabriel Martinelli's injury-time strike earned the Gunners a share of the spoils.

The Blues led early through Erling Haaland's stunning counter-attack goal. The Norwegian started and finished a brilliant move that also involved Tijjani Reijnders.

City had to defend for long periods after taking the lead but Gianluigi Donnarumma was excellent and they looked like they would hang on for a huge win until the second minute of stoppage time.

Eberechi Eze lofted a ball over the top for Martinelli and he controlled it superbly and found a cute finish over Donnarumma. Here's the moments you might have missed

Haaland leads from the front

Since being given the responsibility of being a leader this summer, Haaland has been a colossus for City. He plays with his chest out even more than usual, bestriding the pitch like a Norse god and projecting an aura that can be as intimidating for opponents as it is uplifting for his teammates.

He might not be wearing the captain's armband, but it feels like Haaland has become the leader of this team. It's beating heart in a way he never was before. Perhaps it's a coincidence, but he seems to be more involved than ever before as well.

A week ago, he spent a 45-second spell in the Manchester derby heading away cross after cross, a one-man defensive wall against United's desperate attacks. At the Emirates, he showed his all-round game once again. This time, it was his link-up play, an instant touch and pass that split the game open.

There were five Arsenal players within two yards of Haaland when he picked the ball up deep inside his own half. Seven seconds later, he was in on goal, Gabriel running on fumes as the striker became a dot in the distance. The ball ending up in the back of the net was just a formality.

O'Reilly's breakthrough

Nico O'Reilly might have celebrated a small victory when he was Noni Madueke's number going up at half-time, but the celebrations wouldn't have lasted long when Bukayo Saka came on to replace his England teammate.

A large part of Arsenal's first-half plan involved getting the ball to Madueke so he could run at City's makeshift left-back, but he got no change at all from the exceptional O'Reilly.

Late in the half, the academy graduate stopped another Madueke run at the source and then, for good measure, rolled the ball through the winger's legs to get out of trouble. This showed his growing confidence in the battle.

The 20-year-old kept it up against Saka. When he was finally taken off with four minutes to go, he could barely walk, but he could take immense pride in one of the finest performances of his fledgling career.

Guardiola's solo walk

Guardiola has been mixing things up a little recently. His squad trained at the Etihad on the eve of the derby win last week, a move unheard of during his time in charge of the club. They also arrived at the stadium around 20 minutes earlier than usual that day.

It's not unusual to see him on the pitch before the teams come out to warm up at away games. Often he will be accompanied by a security guard or by confidante Manel Estiarte, but at the Emirates on Sunday he went for a stroll around the pitch with just his thoughts for company.

Guardiola walked over to the far side of the pitch, towards the away end, which only had a couple of dozen supporters in at that point, and then wandered up towards the halfway line before heading back to the tunnel.

Right-back battle

After picking three right-backs in the first four games of this season, Guardiola has settled on one particular option this week, and it's the one who was probably an outsider at the start of the campaign.

Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes began the duel for a position that was threatening to become a problem for City, but Abdukodir Khusanov was selected against Manchester United and is now threatening to nail it down.

The 21-year-old's pace is a major asset, especially in front of a goalkeeper who adopts a deeper starting position than Ederson, but he brings character and personality to the pitch as well. He showed that inside the first couple of minutes with a crunching tackle on Ricardo Calafiori right in front of a delighted away end.

Khusanov was outstanding in the first half, but a knock picked up early on eventually forced his withdrawal at the break. City will be hoping he's fit again soon, because he is making that place in the team his own.