Manchester City became the first side in the hat for the FA Cup fifth round as Nathan Ake's elegant strike took them past a much changed Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Friday.
Mikel Arteta opted to make six changes, mostly in defense, to the side that had beaten Manchester United in such thrilling fashion five days ago and will surely take some degree of surprise at how this weakened Arsenal side matched up against their likely rivals for the Premier League title for over an hour.
On his first full start, Leandro Trossard was a livelier, probing the space vacated by Rico Lewis with purpose and drawing a smart save by Stefan Ortega in what was the best opportunity of the first half. The hosts, meanwhile, rather fed on scraps in the final third, Matt Turner intervening impressively to deny Erling Haaland after Rob Holding miscontrolled the ball. Takehiro Tomiyasu would end the pressure with a clearance off the line.
The second-half changes rather swung the tie in City's favor. Sacrificing Thomas Partey for Albert Sambi Lokonga meant Arsenal struggled to find their way through the press while City's eventual introduction of Julian Alvarez and switch to a 4-2-4 ratcheted up the pressure on the Gunners in their own third.
The Argentine found the space to unleash a thundering shot from outside the box and though it cracked back off the post Jack Grealish picked up the rebound, drawing two defenders to him before rolling the ball to an open Ake. The left back opened his body, rolling the ball precisely into the far corner. Turner did not have a chance.
Arsenal had their chances to send this tie to a replay, a superb diving clearance by Aymeric Laporte denying Eddie Nketiah a certain goal moments after City's opener, but the withdrawal of Bukayo Saka with 15 minutes to play was rather indicative of where their priorities lie.
The stage is set for the title deciders
Passage to the fifth round of the FA Cup is no small prize for City, but in truth this contest was little more than an amuse-bouche for what will come in the Premier League, starting with the meeting between these two at the Emirates Stadium on Feb. 15. It is hard to say with certainty exactly how that will play out because we have not seen Arsenal's best against this City side.
What we did see was a near-entirely changed back five hold out reasonably well and indeed once William Saliba was introduced, Erling Haaland hardly had a sniff. Had Partey stayed on in this contest, Arsenal would surely have not had so many difficulties progressing the ball upfield.
Equally, the act of winning serves City well and they discovered potential weapons of their own, most notably in how Julian Alvarez sparked new life into the frontline after his introduction, dropping into spaces in front of Gabriel to create nuisance. Pep Guardiola will have some coachable moments with young Lewis, who failed to get back quickly enough from the central midfield positions he tends to occupy in possession.
Ake excels once more
Guardiola has been fulsome in his praise of Ake of late and it is clear the praise has not been getting to him. The goal will ensure that the repurposed center back is on the back pages Saturday, but it might not be for the right reasons. His shot was superbly taken, but it was still not quite as impressive as the job he did on Saka, who for once left little mark on the contest.
Ake looks comfortable defending on either foot, a necessity when Arsenal's No. 7 has so many ways to attack you, and is sufficiently quick to keep up with the game's most dangerous wingers. If Ben White returns to the side in the Premier League match, Saka will get more support. He might just need it.
Still, Ake is not getting carried away, saying after the game: "There's still more to come. They are a very tough team. We stayed strong and didn't concede." He was crucial in that regard.
Turner teaches us nothing new
Arteta's decision to heavily rotate his defense brought with it a start for Turner, who clearly has earned enough trust from his manager that Aaron Ramsdale is not parachuted in for bigger cup games. For the most part, that decision was vindicated even if this was not exactly a display that showed great growth from the USMNT number one.
Turner continues to look skittish when his short passing is put under pressure. Inside the first 10 minutes, he handed possession straight to City and was lucky to see a shot fly over his crossbar. There are passes he makes well, notably a clipped ball to the halfway line and Bukayo Saka.
Most impressively of all, he proved to be proactive in quelling threats outside his six-yard box. Having denied Haaland in the first half when he came charging out of his area, he punched a dangerous Kevin De Bruyne cross well clear of danger. Barring injury, it will be only the Europa League between now and the end of the season for Turner. It looks like he can be trusted.