Man City player ratings against Arsenal as Ederson and Ruben Dias...

Ederson: Excellent parades by Saka and Aubameyang – even if the offside flag wrongly and belatedly helped with the latter – have kept City’s lead. A confident performance after that mistake in Leeds. 8

Walking aid: Good to sweep the back as always. If his high foot in the box was a penalty, it is really game over. 7

Days: Composed under pressure, there was hardly a moment when he wasn’t in control of the situation and made sure he was in the right place to take down a dangerous Arsenal attack just before half-time. He just snuck in. 8

Ake: Mastered the extremely brisk Nicolas Pepe well and kept him calm in an unexpected role on the left. 7

Cancel: Eager and positive tracking from a position in front of the defense but failed to adjust to having players behind. There was almost a costly mistake when he was caught dawdling in the possession but was saved by Ederson. 6

Rodri: Given a hot time from Saka, and was posted as early as the 12th minute for attempting to withdraw. Better after the break as City was spending a lot more time than they would normally defend in their own half. 6

Bernardo: A unique role between defense and attack and he did it very well. A quiet effective performance that brought back memories of Bernardo from two seasons ago, when he started out similarly and became the best player in the division. 7

Foden: He showed his class for the first goal, cut effortlessly and tested the goalkeeper. Another quiet feat overall, though difficult to be too tough as it moved a lot and ended up in a false nine. 6

Mahrez: Offer City direct approach, always happiest when he had the ball at his feet on the edge of the penalty area and was ready to face and / or shoot a defender. Went close a few times and overall decent. 7

Sterling: It wasn’t a vintage feat, and yet he was ultimately the match winner. He has developed a useful talent for scoring no matter how he plays – not that his hard work has disappointed. 7

Aguero: A calm return in his first game in five months, although just his presence in the middle seemed to settle a team that had to play without a natural striker for most of the year. A useful start. 6

replacement

Gundogan (for Aguero, 65): A solid slip on his first appearance of the season. 6

Fernandinho (for Foden, 88): No time

Not used: Steffen, Steine, Garcia, Torres, Delap