Arsenal held Manchester City to a scoreless draw on Sunday, and Pep Guardiola’s team was without several important players as they found it difficult to penetrate the Gunners.
Several important players for Manchester City were absent from the team’s goalless draw with Arsenal on Sunday, including Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Ederson.
Despite having a small starting lineup for the match, the defense will be most disappointed with their lack of attacking energy as they only managed one shot on goal and did not score in a Premier League home game for the first time since October 2021.
Even though City had 73% of the possession, they were unable to generate any momentum against a resilient Gunners defense, and Golden Boot leader Erling Haaland was criticized for his lack of participation. Liverpool now has the advantage as a result of the draw.
As they attempt to win a second straight Treble, the champions will still fancy themselves even though they are three points behind the league leaders, who defeated Brighton 2-1 prior to kickoff at the Etihad.
Although City was able to function without Walker, Ederson, and Stones, there is one player that City would be most afraid of losing. Guardiola’s team will clearly suffer without Rodri, who has yet to experience a loss while playing for his team this season.
This season, the club has only lost four times without the Spaniard on the field. He received too many red and yellow cards, which caused him to miss Premier League matches against Wolves, Arsenal, and Aston Villa.
Rodri is about to receive a second suspension. He has already received eight yellow cards, and he will miss two games if he receives two more in the next three games.
A player is suspended for two matches if they receive ten yellow cards in the first thirty-two Premier League games for their team. City has participated in 29 games thus far.
Rodri will be ineligible to play in the league games against Brighton and Luton if he receives a yellow card in the match against Aston Villa on Wednesday and again in the match against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Rodri will miss the games against Nottingham Forest and Brighton if he receives two yellow cards in separate games up until and including the Luton game on April 13. He won’t be suspended, though, if he receives his tenth yellow card of the year in the team’s 33rd game—a trip to Brighton.
Rodri could still play in the FA Cup semi-final on April 20 against Chelsea because bans are no longer transferable to other domestic competitions. Additionally, domestic bans have never been recognized in Europe, so barring a red card in the first leg, he could play both legs against Real Madrid.