Manchester City were hit by a major blow in the first half of their Premier League title showdown with Arsenal when Rodri limped off with an injury.

Rodri, who has become a cornerstone of both City and Spain’s success in recent seasons and has propelled himself into the conversation for the Ballon d’Or, went down under minimal contact in the box, in what seemed to be an innocuous moment in the game.

After a lengthy break for treatment, Rodri was helped off the field by City physios, grimacing and signalling to manager Pep Guardiola that he needed to be replaced. Mateo Kovacic came on in his place.

Guardiola will be concerned that Rodri may have caused a recurrence of the hamstring injury he picked up at Euro 2024, which saw him miss the start of City’s season.

City had been leading the match after Erling Haaland scored his 100th goal for the club. The Norway international reached the landmark figure on his 105th appearance for the defending champions.

Haaland has been in outstanding form this season with his latest goal taking his total for the campaign to 10 in all competitions. He opened the scoring in the ninth minute at Etihad Stadium when running through on goal and firing past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

Soon after Rodri left the field, City appeared to lose their momentum and they were hit by another blow when Arsenal equalised through Riccardo Calafiori, making his full debut.