- England star netted crucial goal
- Effort sparked wild celebrations
- Came close to taking his shirt off
WHAT HAPPENED? The England international winger netted a crucial goal for the reigning champions as they secured a vital 3-1 victory over fellow title hopefuls at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday. Grealish’s effort came in the 72nd minute, 10 minutes after he had picked up a caution, and he has revealed that he came close to whipping off his shirt in wild celebration – which would have resulted in him being shown a red card.
WHAT THEY SAID: Grealish told reporters afterwards of saving himself from suspension after making a decisive contribution to the City cause: “When I was celebrating I was going to take my top off but I realised I was on a yellow card! It was massive. For me, it was a great night. That’s what I’ve been wanting to do. To score that one tonight was so important and I was absolutely buzzing. Gundo [Ilkay Gundogan], I knew he was going to pass it at the time. If it was Erling [Haaland] in that position… I was trying to go back across but as it was coming it felt like 10 seconds. I was due one of them when it deflects in.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Grealish’s strike did flick off Takehiro Tomiyasu, allowing the ball to bobble over the outstretched arm of Aaron Ramsdale, with the Gunners shooting themselves in the foot on a regular basis on the defensive front against City. Grealish concedes that Pep Guardiola’s side were not at their best, adding: “I don’t think we played that well. I think Arsenal played a lot better than us, I think they were the better team.”
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Victory for City in north London has taken them to the top of the Premier League table, on goal difference and having played a game more than Arsenal, with Guardiola’s side beginning to move through the gears as they seek to land a fifth domestic crown in a six-year period.