Man City get winning return after joining race protest
18 June, 2020
Manchester Metropolis secured the primary win of the Premier League's restart with a 3-0 victory over 10-man Arsenal in a clear Etihad on Wednesday due to the English top flight's return was first marked by protests against racial injustice.
Both sets of players came together before kick-off to have a knee, as had Aston Villa and Sheffield United players in the initial match after a 100-day stoppage because of coronavirus.
"I'm embarrassed and ashamed of what the white people have done for the black persons," said City manager Pep Guardiola.
"We have to execute a lot of issues for the black persons which we have not done so far."
City's victory closes the gap on Liverpool at the very top to 22 details and means the Reds cannot secure the name when they face Everton found in the Merseyside derby on Sunday.
- Arteta's plan undone -
A good minute's silence before kick-off remembered those to have dropped their lives to COVID-19, including Guardiola's mother.
Black Lives Matter was first also emblazoned in the trunk of shirts where in fact the stars names are usually printed, as the players took a knee round the centre circle.
There was little go back to normality after the game did kick-off to the hollow ring of a clear stadium as a torrential downpour put into the difficult conditions for the players.
"We predicted it to become weird," said City's Raheem Sterling. "The first ten minutes it was used to the atmosphere and obtaining the cobwebs off."
However, City before long found their groove merely just as Arsenal were disrupted simply by two early injuries.
Gunners' boss Mikel Arteta had made a good bold team collection on his return to the Etihad, where he spent three-and-a-half years as Guardiola's assistant.
The Spaniard left Alexandre Lacazette and club record signing Nicolas Pepe alongside David Luiz on the bench, while Mesut Ozil did not even make the squad despite a non permanent rule change to permit nine substitutes on the bench.
Guardiola had voiced his considerations for players' welfare above the lack of preparation time to get right up to full fitness.
But it was Arteta's plan that was undone inside 20 mins as Granit Xhaka and Pablo Mari hobbled off with Luiz replacing the latter.
"Everything went wrong from the first of all minute when Granit got wounded," said Arteta, who was left in without doubt of the work he has ahead to close the gap between his new employers and his old.
As Town began to turn the screw, only Bernd Leno in the Arsenal target kept the score down before half-time.
However, Sterling manufactured the breakthrough when Luiz didn't cut away Kevin De Bruyne's cross and the England international rifled home his first goal of 2020.
Five minutes in to the second-half, Arsenal's challenging task became an impossible 1 as Luiz pulled downwards Riyad Mahrez in the box and was proven a red card.
De Bruyne coolly sent Leno the wrong way from the penalty place to end the overall game as a contest.
There was yet another serious looking problems for come mainly because City defender Eric Garcia was stretchered from the field immediately after being destroyed by his own goalkeeper Ederson resulting in 11 minutes of added time.
"He is normally conscious, that is clearly a good sign, but he is going to get a supplementary test," said Guardiola of Garcia's condition.
City used the excess time to add a third as alternative Phil Foden side-footed residence after Sergio Aguero struck the content.
Defeat is another blow for Arsenal's expectations of a go back to the Champions League up coming season as they stay in ninth, eight tips off the most notable four.
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