He ran unchallenged, veering around Magalhães towards the edge of the area and guiding a low shot past Aaron Ramsdale.Ĭity teemed with intensity, nobody more so than Pep Guardiola. The opening goal was too easy, Haaland taking a touch with Holding at his back and laying off for De Bruyne, who was already into his stride. Arsenal were fortunate to escape a drubbing.Ĭity pressed ferociously at the outset, they ran hard, sometimes straight through their opponents. De Bruyne was outstanding, the perfect partner for Haaland but, from front to back, it was difficult to fault anybody in sky blue. The numbers merely reinforce what the eyes are seeing. They have won 12 straight against Arsenal in the league. It is 17 unbeaten for City in all competitions, 14 of them wins and two of the draws were in the Champions League, which did not affect their progress to the semi-final. Moreover, they are on a roll that shows zero sign of stopping. Yet City are only two points back and with two games in hand. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty ImagesĪrsenal are still top of the table, which was easy to forget in the heat of the moment, in the disappointment of their display. Manchester City’s John Stones scores their second goal past Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale. Phil Foden, on as a substitute, produced a fine piece of control before playing in Haaland and he stroked home for his 49th goal of the season in all competitions. It felt as if he was saying that he was finished. Haaland had taken out his hair bobble in stoppage time, allowing his long locks to flow. They were able to dig in at 3-0 and Holding even conjured a consolation goal with a firm finish. Did they really believe they could win? It did not look like it. It was a traumatic night for Arteta, when his players started badly, losing the one on ones, when they were nowhere near to their best levels.
There were times when he seemed to bulldoze through, when it actually felt unfair. But he was too quick, as well, which made him virtually unplayable. The City No 9 had too much strength for them, which was a big problem. It was a night when Erling Haaland was frightening to watch from the press box so goodness knows what it was like for Rob Holding and Gabriel Magalhães in the centre of the Arsenal defence. No club has their talent or the depth of it. Nobody is, perhaps in the whole of Europe. They are just not on the same level as City, particularly in this kind of mood. They have defied expectations to have an excellent season. To be clear – Arsenal have not bottled it.
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