Man City showed their champions’ personality vs Arsenal, says Rodri

The Spain international scored in the third minute of stoppage time to put

Pep Guardiola

's side 11 points ahead at the top of the league.

It seemed as if the match would end in a draw as

leveled from the penalty spot to cancel out

's first-half effort goal to bring it to a tie.

Despite having 70.9% of the ball,

had just two shots on target from their 15 total efforts.

, on the other hand, feels he and his teammates were rewarded for their perseverance, and he also praised

's performance in the absence of manager

Mikel Arteta

, who was absent due to a positive COVID-19 test.

"This kind of game, you always have two or three in a season,"

he told

.

"They're an unbelievable team; they show why they're in that position. The way they grow with Mikel is huge, massive.

"They did a good game but fortunately, we saw our champions' personality. I've learned from previous years you have to push always, no matter what happens.

"We were 1-0 down in the break. Suddenly, things change. We didn't do a great game, but we pushed; never dropped, and always thought it was possible."

However, speaking after the match, Man City manager Pep Guardiola conceded that the Gunners were the better side.

"They [Arsenal] were better,"

he said.

"We faced a team who have struggled to be in top four and start the season at the bottom. Now, they are in the top four.

"They had six or seven days since their last game at Norwich; we had three days since Brentford.

"We didn't have energy. In the second half, one minute changed with the penalty, one minute the [near] own goal and the sending off.

"Sometimes, the coin falls on your side, sometimes the other side. We know how much it means to win at the Emirates at the moment and the good team they are."

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