Manchester City drew 0-0 with Arsenal today at the Etihad Stadium – and there is one player who deserves a great deal of credit for his performance.
Pep Guardiola‘s side could not get the statement victory they wanted, with the Gunners defending very well throughout the contest.
Mike Arteta’s side deployed a low block and it proved very difficult for City’s attacking players to deal with. The likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden struggled to break Arsenal down, with Gabriel and William Saliba especially solid.
With Liverpool having beaten Brighton earlier in the door, it was a frustrating result. But City will at least be pleased with a clean sheet in the absence of Ederson, Kyle Walker and John Stones. Nathan Ake also went off injured today.
Ake going off was far from ideal, but his replacement Rico Lewis did a great job and the 20-year-old deserves big praise…
Rico Lewis was superb against Arsenal for Manchester City, after zero PL minutes for two months
City fans will patiently wait for an update on Ake’s condition.
The Dutchman appeared to be clutching his calf when he was going off, but hopefully it will be nothing serious.
But credit must go to Rico Lewis, who replaced the 28-year-old, with Manuel Akanji then moving inside after starting the game on the right side.
Lewis operated in a hybrid role, keeping width but often moving into central midfield positions to try and create overloads.
While Lewis did not grab the game by the scruff of the neck, he did put in an assured performance, completing 33/35 (94%) of his passes (via Sofascore).
There was one particularly nice turn he did on the edge of the area in the second half, and it was a shame he never got the ball back after he had ghosted into the Arsenal box.
Lewis deserves major credit for his display, because these were his first minutes in the Premier League since January 31 when he started against Burnley.
Minutes have been hard to come by this calendar year for £25,000-a-week star Lewis. This was only his fifth appearance of 2024 so far, so to come into such an intense game midway through the first-half, and produce a performance like that having played so little lately, is a testament to his character and quality.