Manchester City demonstrated their dominance in a top-of-the-table clash against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland terrorised Arsenal’s defence from the opening whistle. De Bruyne side-footed in a goal from 20 yards to give City the lead just seven minutes into the game. Haaland had several chances to increase City’s advantage before John Stones headed in De Bruyne’s free kick in first-half stoppage time to give the game a scoreline that reflected City’s superiority.
De Bruyne added another goal nine minutes into the second half to put the game beyond Arsenal’s reach. Haaland finally scored deep into added time, after Rob Holding had scored a consolation goal for Arsenal. The win puts City just two points behind Arsenal with two games in hand.
City can now afford to lose one of their remaining seven games and still win the Premier League title, even if Arsenal win out. They are chasing a fifth Premier League title in six years and have their sights set on a historic treble-winning season with an FA Cup final against Manchester United and a Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid still to come.
Mikel Arteta’s side has taken just three points from their past four games and is faltering at the crucial stage of the season. Arteta has lost all seven games against City since he left his role as Guardiola’s assistant to take charge of the Gunners.
The big question going into the game was how understudy Holding would cope with Haaland. The answer was emphatic, with Haaland easily holding off Holding to control a long ball forward and lay it off into the path of De Bruyne.
City’s dominance continued throughout the first half, with De Bruyne and Haaland creating chances that were denied by smart saves from Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale. Just as Arsenal was thinking they might get into half-time down only 1-0, City added to their lead. Stones headed in De Bruyne’s pinpoint delivery to the far post, and a VAR check showed the goal was onside.
The hosts continued their dominance in the second half. Haaland had an effort repelled by Ramsdale, but De Bruyne was in more clinical form. City’s chief creator threaded a low shot through the legs of Holding to catch out Ramsdale and end the game as a contest.
Guardiola was comfortable enough to give De Bruyne a rest with ten minutes left. Holding scored a well-taken shot past Ederson with four minutes remaining, but Haaland added an exclamation point to City’s win.
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