Manchester City’s saviour John Stones said Arsenal have become one of the hardest teams to face because Mikel Arteta’s side are so adept at using the darker arts of the game.

Arsenal used every trick in the book as they hung on to a 2-1 lead for virtually the entire second half with 10 men.

Leandro Trossard was sent off for kicking the ball away.

But substitute Stones popped up in the eighth minute of stoppage time toequalise and preserveCity’s near two-year unbeaten run at home in the Premier League.

It was a huge relief for City who returned to the top of the table, two points ahead of rivals Arsenal who slipped to fourth.

In truth, City looked woefully short of ideas as Arsenal played with 10 men behind the ball, their usual slick passing game bogged down by Arsenal’s red wall.

“They’ve done it for a few years, and we know to expect that,” defender Stones, who played more like a centre forward when he came on, told Sky Sports.

“You can call it clever or dirty, whichever way you want to put it, they break up the game and obviously upset the rhythm for everyone.

“They use it to their advantage.

“I thought we dealt with it really well. It’s not easy. When those things are happening, you’re trying to gain momentum.

“You’re trying to get a foot into the game and get above them.

“Those little stoppages stop that. We controlled our emotions really well.”