It was honours even between
Manchester City and
Arsenal as they played out a stalemate in their Easter Sunday showdown at the Etihad Stadium . The goalless 90 minutes followed a 2-1 victory for
Liverpool against Brighton which has put the Reds top ahead of a mouth-watering run-in. Nathan Ake went closest to scoring for City in the early stages - before the Dutchman was forced off with injury - while Arsenal squandered a decent opportunity on the counter attack late on. However, generally speaking, there were few genuine chances at either end. As a result, City remain in third - three points behind Liverpool - with nine games remaining. Here, we take a look at three moments you might have missed on Sunday afternoon; ALSO READ: Guardiola launches furious seven-minute fixtures rant ALSO READ: Highlights and reaction from City vs Arsenal match-up Guardiola's double bluff Gamesmanship, even between two managers who hold such respect and a great friendship, is commonplace and was very much on show at the Etihad Stadium, even before the action got underway. Owing to injuries, City were forced into naming an untested back-four featuring two left footers in Ake and Josko Gvardiol. In the warm-up, Gvardiol looked as though he who was going to play centre-back when being put through his paces, but
Pep Guardiola used that as his first double bluff with Ake actually being the man to step inside once the game started - also moving into midfield in a hybrid role before withdrawing through injury. Argumentative Haaland Erling Haaland usually lets his
Football do the talking and goals are his mother tongue. However, on this occasion, the ex-Borussia Dortmund man was left to feed-off scraps and instead set about trying to drag City through by showcasing an unfamiliar trait - some trash talk - even if it was not all his doing. No sooner than Peter Drury uttered that Haaland doesn't mind a ruck from his commentary position, the frontman got involved with fit-again Gabriel, smashing into the Arsenal defender (accidentally) before dishing up some very much planned verbals. William Saliba, during the match and when the final whistle sounded, and Gabriel Jesus also got under Haaland's skin enough for him to
fire back with a few heated words. Fit-again Grealish made to take his medicine With so much at stake for both teams, it was understandable that so few risks were taken on-field. Guardiola sent on Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish to inject some natural width in the closing stages, but even they could not help City break their opponents down, much to Guardiola's frustration when it came to Grealish. Guardiola was particularly animated in his post-match chat with the £100million man, who was made to stand there and listen like a school pupil in detention. Guardiola then stepped in as peacemaker for Haaland and Gabriel, who were still going at it, before they ended their tussle with a cuddle.