Pain in the Arsenal
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Man City 1-0 Arsenal: Player ratings as Gunners exit the FA Cup

By James Cormack

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: Nathan Ake of Manchester City celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad Stadium on January 27, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: Nathan Ake of Manchester City celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad Stadium on January 27, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal exited the FA Cup on Friday night as they were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

It was a chess match from the off with chances coming few and far between in the opening period with Arsenal working the more promising openings. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Leandro Trossard each drew strong saves out of Stefan Ortega, while Kevin de Bruyne curled wide at the other end.

The hosts then started the second half strongly as Thomas Partey was withdrawn in midfield, and they opened the scoring through Nathan Ake, who curled home tidily from inside the area after Julian Alvarez hit the post.

Mikel Arteta turned to his strong bench in response, and the Gunners came on strong to conclude the contest but they were unable to find an equaliser as City advanced into the fifth round.

Man City 1-0 Arsenal player ratings

Here are the Arsenal player ratings from their 1-0 cup defeat at the Etihad.

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Matt Turner impressed between the sticks. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Matt Turner impressed between the sticks. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /

Matt Turner (GK) – 7/10 – Dusted off a poor pass early on to enjoy a strong performance between the sticks. Quick off his line and assertive when claiming or punching. There was little he could do to deny Ake from opening the scoring.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (RB) – 6/10 – Defended Grealish well, rarely allowing the City winger to turn and attack him one-vs-one.

Rob Holding (CB) – 5.5/10 – There were a couple of hairy moments, and his booking led to a half-time withdrawal, but Holding competed well against Erling Haaland in the opening 45 minutes.

Gabriel (CB) – 6/10 – Wasn’t incredibly busy, but handled Haaland well when the Norwegian drifted over to his side.

Kieran Tierney (LB) – 4.5/10 – His lack of technical quality let Arsenal down at times in the first half, with Oleksandr Zinchenko replacing him midway through the second period.

Continued on the next slide…