Manchester City took a major step towards defending their Premier League title after sweeping aside Arsenal at the Etihad. The combination of Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland bewildered the Gunners, whose gap at the top has now been reduced to two points with City holding two games in hand. De Bruyne struck twice either side of John Stones’ precise header with Haaland providing the assists for both of his efforts. Rob Holding pulled one back for the visitors late on but there was no dramatic comeback with Haaland getting his goal in injury time. Arsenal were unable to find any rhythm all night with the difference in class evident as City’s array of stars shone when it mattered most.
Ederson was unable to keep a clean sheet but could do nothing about Holding’s strike. Kyle Walker was back in the side to deal with the threat of Gabriel Martinelli and snuffed out any danger from the Arsenal counter with ease. Ruben Dias was booked for a silly kick-out at White late in the first-half but otherwise had a quiet evening. Manuel Akanji was excellent at the back, contributing with driving runs up the pitch. John Stones headed home a superb header to double his side’s lead and was perfectly placed by the England man who didn’t put a foot wrong all night. Rodri was his usual, classy self, pressing and pouncing on the Arsenal midfield. Bernardo Silva had a quiet but energetic performance on the right.
De Bruyne tormented Arsenal with his runs through the middle and effortlessly combined with Haaland, scoring twice with two perfect finishes. Ilkay Gundogan was superb in the transition, pressing the opposition into mistakes at will. Jack Grealish was a constant driving presence down the inside left. Haaland dropped deep to free de Bruyne throughout the evening and bullied Holding and Gabriel when the furthest man forward. Aaron Ramsdale could have done better with De Bruyne’s opener but made key saves in the first-half before denying Haaland one-on-one early in the second. Ben White made a decisive block to deny de Bruyne a second in the first-half but kept Stones onside for City’s second. Rob Holding fired home a superb consolation but was run ragged by Haaland and de Bruyne. Gabriel Magalhaes couldn’t deal with de Bruyne and Haaland running at speed and Oleksandr Zinchenko offered little going forward back in Manchester, part of a backline that couldn’t live with the hosts. Martin Odegaard gave the ball away carelessly for City’s third, passing the ball straight de Bruyne’s feet. Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka were overrun in midfield, while Bukayo Saka had a quiet game. Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli were both anonymous and were replaced on the hour by Trossard.
City now just two points behind Arsenal with two games in hand, and their title challenge is on the ropes. Tony Adams recently revealed the surprise scoreline he’d ‘love’ to see when Arsenal play Man City, and Barcelona are open to selling Arsenal target Raphinha in order to fund Lionel Messi return. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.