I don’t think time-wasting Arsenal will beat Manchester City to the Premier League title - Manuel Akanji

Manuel Akanji has stoked the already hostile relations between Manchester City and Arsenal by claiming he doesn’t think the Gunners will win the Premier League title this season.

The two sides met in a feisty affair at the Etihad on Sunday, which ended with City snatching a dramatic 2-2 draw courtesy of John Stones’ equaliser in the eighth minute of injury-time. There were no shortage of flashpoints in a pulsating encounter that saw Rodri bowled to the ground by Kai Havertz in the opening seconds, Erling Haaland repeat the same trick later against Thomas Partey, while the City striker also threw the ball at Gabriel after Stones’ goal.

The game culminated with several skirmishes between the two groups of players - with Haaland central once again in proceedings - while there were even some minor exchanges between the two benches in a fixture that underlined the growing intensity of this rivalry.

Bernardo Silva amplified the situation by criticising Arsenal’s time-wasting tactics on Sunday, and also took aim at the club’s lack of silverware in recent years. Akanji was equally as irritated by the Gunners’ on-field actions, and gave a damning verdict in the aftermath of the match.

Asked to sum up the chaos of the game, Akanji replied: “That's what they're looking for. Always when we play against them, that's what they're looking for. The drama. Going hard in the duels, defence, 11 players in their own box and then go on set-pieces and try to score a goal.

“Every free-kick that was given, they went on the floor. Players go on the floor to get up, sprint back again, go on the floor again, one of their team went over to tell the keeper to go on the floor and stuff like this.

“I mean, there's nothing we can do about it. In the end, It's up to the referee to control throughout the whole season, to control these situations. But yeah, there's nothing else we can do about it.

“I don’t think there are many better than them at it [the dark arts],” he continued. “It worked for them so if they're happy with the one point. We're not, we tried to get more but that's what they're happy with.”

The 2-2 draw ultimately maintained City’s long unbeaten run at home, which now stands at 48 games in all competitions, while the champions remain top of the Premier League table after five games.

But the psychological impact of that late Stones equaliser could have longer-term implications, with City denying their closest rivals from inflicting an early blow in this season’s title race. For the third year in a row the two teams are expected to compete for top spot, but Akanji said he doubts whether Arsenal are capable of outrunning Pep Guardiola’s side over 38 games.

“Of course, at the end of the day we're still top of the league. We haven't lost a game yet. We tried, especially in the second half with one man up but it's hard with 10 players defending in their own box.

“So we tried our best, in the end we had to keep pushing until the end. Luckily in the end we scored a goal and got one point.

“In the end we always won the title and I don't think it's going to be different this year,” he added on the growing enmity between the two clubs.

City next face Arsenal in the Premier League in early February and currently lead Mikel Arteta’s side by two points at this early stage of the campaign.