Manchester City fans erupted against Arsenal fans when John Stones equalized the match between the two teams. They made a gesture with their hands, showing four fingers, referring to the four consecutive Premier League titles won by City, two of which were ahead of Arsenal.

It was a reaction of relief and mockery after 45 minutes of siege, following Leandro Trossard’s red card that left Arsenal with ten players. With the score at 2-1 in their favor and without the Belgian, Arsenal decided to fall back and give up attacking. This tactic almost worked until Stones equalized in the 97th minute.

In the second half, the 'Gunners' had only 10% possession of the ball, managed just one shot on target, created no corners, and completed only 54 passes compared to City’s 391.

Additionally, the continuous time-wasting by Arsenal players was noted, with up to four of them requiring medical treatment on the pitch: David Raya, Gabriel Martinelli, Riccardo Calafiori, and Jurrien Timber.

Furthermore, accusations that Arsenal employed "dark arts" gained traction when a video surfaced, filmed from the stands, showing academy player Myles Lewis-Skelly breaking the rules and going to the goal line during warm-ups to pass some sort of instruction to Raya, who went down with cramps minutes later.

These actions angered City players, who responded after the match.

"They slowed the game down," said Stones. "They sent the goalkeeper to the ground so the coach could give instructions to the rest. It’s not the first time they’ve done it, so we expected it. You can call it clever or dirty, whichever you prefer," he stated.

"For us, it was frustrating; their coach will say they did very well," Kyle Walker highlighted.

Bernardo Silva, one of the least reserved about his emotions, described the differences between this rivalry and the one they had with Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp.

"That Liverpool won a Premier and Arsenal didn't. That Liverpool won a 'Champions' and Arsenal didn't. That Liverpool always tried to win the match," noted the Portuguese.

According to statistics, Arsenal is the fourteenth team in the Premier League in terms of effective playing time, with 51:28 minutes per game out of a total of 101. Only Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Fulham, Newcastle United, and Wolverhampton Wanderers produce less effective time than Arsenal.

The leader of this statistic is Manchester City, with 59:26 minutes per match out of a total of 101:48.

Last season, Arsenal had the third most effective playing time in the Premier League at 54:58 minutes, four minutes less than City, which again led this table.

However, Arsenal's drop is clearly affected by two matches, given that only five rounds of the Premier have been played.

In the third round, against Brighton & Hove Albion, Arsenal suffered Declan Rice's expulsion in the 49th minute. In that match, they went from having 48% possession in the first half and leading 1-0 to having 24% in the second half and drawing 1-1.

They dominated Aston Villa (0-2) and Wolves (2-0) without much trouble, but against Tottenham (0-1), they had less possession; however, being a North London derby, it is assumed to be a much rougher and more halted match.

The accusations against the 'Gunners' from City are likely centered on the matches against them, particularly the last two. The clash between the two in matchday 30 of last season, with both teams at the top and Arsenal one point ahead of City, was one of the worst matches of the season.

Both teams played not to lose, given what was at stake, and there were only three shots on target in the entire match. Arsenal had only 28% possession.

To label Arsenal as a team accustomed to using those "dark arts" seems, based on the data, somewhat erroneous and can be more accurately confined to specific moments, like last Sunday, with a favorable score, 45 minutes of holding on, and the best team in England facing them.