Arsenal vs Manchester City is now a heavyweight fixture. Both sides have gone toe-to-toe for the Premier League crown, making every fixture these days a spectacle.
Football FanCast has delved into the history books and picked out the greatest goals scored in this fixture in the Premier League era.
12 Rodri v Arsenal, Aug 2021
Not only is Rodri a major defensive presence, but he has the ability to score special goals, as he did in the Champions League final – and also against Arsenal back in August 2021.
The Spaniard scored the fourth of five goals in a very one-sided game, and to make matters worse, Arsenal ended it with 10 men after a rash tackle on Joao Cancelo saw Granit Xhaka given his marching orders.
Ferran Torres, now of Barcelona, rolled the ball into the path of Rodri and the midfielder strode onto it with ease, curling it low and hard beyond the reach of Bernd Leno.
11 Yaya Toure v Arsenal, Dec 2015
From one dominant midfielder to another, with the one and only Yaya Toure next up.
The Ivorian was an integral player for Manchester City in a defining era for the club, scoring some very impressive goals in the process.
One of these came in a 2-1 defeat that set up a nervy finish in north London. Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud scored first-half goals assisted by Mesut Ozil to put Arsenal ahead, before Toure struck with the most nonchalant of finishes to half the deficit late on.
Toure effortlessly caressed the ball into the far top corner. Arsenal’s Petr Cech could do nothing but watch the ball sail past him.
10 Theo Walcott v Man City, Dec 2015
This table-topping clash from the 2015/16 season saw three fine goals, and Walcott lashing one home at the Clock End set Arsenal up for a superb victory under the lights.
Kevin De Bruyne had been pulling the strings in the early stages in the capital but a different playmaker, Ozil, stepped up to the plate.
He didn’t have to do all that much in truth – he laid it off to Walcott as the Englishman cut back and fired off a venomous effort.
As well as being extremely powerful, it was accurate and flew beyond the reach of fellow countryman Joe Hart.
9 Kevin De Bruyne v Arsenal, Feb 2023
Unsurprisingly, Erling Haaland scored in last season’s clash on Arsenal soil with the title potentially hanging in the balance.
Kevin De Bruyne assisted Haaland’s inevitable goal, though he got one of his own in very impressive fashion.
Takehiro Tomiyasu, whilst under pressure from Jack Grealish, played a weak ball back towards Aaron Ramsdale, and the two-time PFA Player of the Year was the first to react.
De Bruyne beat Ramsdale to the loose ball and was able to flick it over the goalkeeper’s head with one touch on his weaker left foot.
The Belgian showed he is a true master of the first-time finish with this strike.
8 Thierry Henry v Man City, Feb 2003
Football fans of a certain age will be used to Manchester City being the dominant force in the English landscape.
20 or so years ago, Manchester United and Arsenal were the two heavy-hitters and they took up the top two spots in the 2002/03 season.
The year prior to Arsenal’s infamous invincible campaign, Thierry Henry was one of five different scorers as Arsene Wenger’s men made light work of Man City at Maine Road.
Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires struck in the first 12 minutes and then after playing a major role in the latter’s goal, Henry came up with one of his own.
A long ball from defence aimed at Henry was brought down deftly by the Frenchman’s right foot and then without hesitation, he fired a low shot off with left into the far corner, making it 3-0 after just a quarter of an hour.
7 Eduardo v Man City, Feb 2008
Emmanuel Adebayor took all of the plaudits for the second clash between Arsenal and Manchester City in the 2007/08 season and rightly so.
He scored twice and assisted the other in a 3-1 win for the Gunners at the Etihad. His strikes were impressive, but it was Eduardo’s goal that is the real headline finish.
A wonderful, flowing team move brought Arsenal up the field and into the City box.
Gael Clichy stood up a cross to the back post and Adebayor had the vision to head it into the path of Eduardo. The man from Rio de Janeiro brought the ball down on his chest and swivelled to expertly fire the ball beyond Joe Hart.
6 Emmanuel Adebayor v Arsenal, Sep 2009
Talking of Adebayor, he features on this list for a goal of his own – and not necessarily for its quality.
He wasn’t too keen on keeping the Arsenal fans happy, as can be seen by his move to Tottenham Hotspur and his celebration when wearing the sky blue of Manchester City.
A year after he assisted Eduardo against City, he was playing for them with this goal in question being followed by the aforementioned celebration.
There were six goals in this game and four of them came in the last 15 minutes, so there was enough drama on show as it was.
Adebayor was unmarked in the area when he stooped down to head Shaun Wright-Phillips’ cross into the bottom corner of Manuel Almunia’s goal. He then only had one thought in his mind – he wheeled away in celebration, ran to the other end of the field and performed the famous knee slide in front of the travelling Arsenal support.
5 Alexis Sanchez v Man City, Sep 2014
There were a lot of rumours that Alexis Sanchez was going to cross this divide as well and reunite with Pep Guardiola at City, but he ended up in the red half of Manchester instead.
The Chilean dynamo is someone who Arsenal fans have much fonder memories of and his reputation remains largely intact.
After Sergio Aguero gave Man City the lead, goals from Jack Wilshere and Sanchez flipped the game on its head, only for Martín Demichelis to score late on to rescue a point for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
Sanchez’s strike was undoubtedly the pick of the bunch. With Wilshere coming flying through to keep the Arsenal attack alive with a looping header, the current Inter man was on hand to calmly volley it into the back of the net.
Coming just a few months into his Arsenal career, this will have endeared him to the Gunners supporters no end.
4 Mikel Arteta v Man City, Apr 2012
Mikel Arteta first made his mark in this fixture during his initial season at Arsenal.
Over a decade ago now, he scored the only goal of the game in the 87th minute to send City back to Manchester with nothing to show for their efforts as their title dream looked to be in tatters.
The No 8 shut down a potential City break as he dispossessed Aguero before firing in an effort from range. The ball soared beyond Hart and seconds later, the Spaniard was beaming with joy as he celebrated a huge winner at the Emirates.
Mario Balotelli was later sent off to compound the visitors’ misery.
3 Robinho v Arsenal, Nov 2008
Breaking into the top three now, and in the bronze position we have Robinho, one of City’s first superstars during the Sheikh Mansour era.
Stephen Ireland scored the opener at the Etihad on the brink of half-time after a scramble in the box.
Shaun Wright-Phillips then led the charge for the second goal, breaking into the Arsenal half and sliding in Robinho, who scooped the ball over a hapless Almunia.
City went on to win 3-0 with Daniel Sturridge scoring a late penalty to put the icing on the cake, but Robinho’s superb effort remains the defining moment.
