Both Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta chose not to start the match at full war strength. Under the crossbar were reserve goalkeepers Stefan Ortega (City) and Matt Turner (Arsenal), but otherwise City’s starting eleven looked strong. The vanguard consisted of man-in-form Riyad Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland. Eddie Nketiah started at Arsenal, the man who scored twice against Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United.
Aké eventually became the celebrated man. In the 64th minute he steamed up and Aké got the ball in the box from Grealish. With a nice, placed shot, Aké shot the ball neatly out of reach of Turner into the goal. It turned out to be the winning goal, as no more goals were scored.