Kai Havertz and Arsenal team-mate set embarrassing Premier League record in Man City draw

Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber defended admirably against Manchester City - but the Arsenal duo failed to complete a single pass in Sunday's dramatic match.

The Gunners found themselves in a position of power after taking a 2-1 lead against the champions courtesy of goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel just before half-time, only to then see Leandro Trossard sent off shortly after the latter headed home.

That left Mikel Arteta's side up against it for the entire second half, where they defended for their lives. Unfortunately for Arsenal, their brave resistance was finally broken in the 98th minute as John Stones struck to make it 2-2.

Arsenal stay two points behind City courtesy of that late goal. Unsurprisingly, the hosts dominated in all the key metrics and it soon emerged post-match that despite their defensive efforts, two Arsenal players had set an unwanted record.

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Havertz and Timber, who spent the majority of the second half camped inside their own half, became the first outfield players since Opta started collecting data to play 89-plus minutes without completing a single pass during a Premier League match.

Timber attempted six passes that failed to land with Havertz making five. The duo did, however, play their part in a quite remarkable defensive effort from Arsenal, who were devastated following Stones' late leveller.

Speaking post-match, Arteta refused to condemn Trossard, who picked up a needless second yellow card for delaying a restart after kicking the ball away.

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The Spaniard instead lauded Arsenal's defensive performance, saying: “We know how difficult it is already against this team here, that's the reason why they haven't lost for over a year. We struggled in the first 10 to 15 minutes to control certain spaces and they scored the goal, but we reacted incredibly well.

“We showed unbelievable character and personality and then we had the game where we wanted it. The team showed again that it’s ready in any context, that it’s strong, with people cramping against 10 men. For 56 minutes to do what we've done is remarkable and it's a shame that at the end we haven't managed to win the game.

“The team has this character, this personality, and we showed it today in probably in the most difficult stadium in Europe.”

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