It was built up to be the game of the season. First versus second, teacher versus student. It was believed that whoever took home the three points would likely also get their hands on the Premier League trophy.
But like men against boys, reigning champions Manchester City dismantled the young Arsenal side, piece by piece.
Devoid of confidence, and missing a key central defender in William Saliba, the Gunners were quickly put to the sword by City who were relentless in the press, composed in possession, and far, far more clinical in front of goal.
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Perhaps the pressure had started to creep in for Mikel Arteta’s men, who suffered three draws from their last three games, twice going up by two and twice throwing the result away.
Like in the back end of last season, Arsenal dropped points in the most crucial of times. Last year, it cost them a Champions League spot, this year, it’s looking like it’ll cost them their first league title since 2003.
Showing all the signs of champions, it was obvious that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and his troops had been here before. When placed in a similar situation during the 2018-2019 season, going toe-to-toe with Liverpool, not once in the crucial run-in did they stumble.
With nine games to go, Liverpool dropped to second place on 70 points following a draw with Everton, behind Manchester City on 71 points. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will have been banking on football to do its thing and throw a spanner in the works, praying it would cost City a few points here and there.
City, however, was devastating, taking 27 points from a possible 27, finishing on 98 points, one point above Liverpool. In any other season, 97 points pretty much guarantee winning the Premier League — but not against Manchester City.
Like machines programmed to fulfil a task, no mortal could match their efficiency.
How Manchester City got the best of Arsenal
Guardiola’s game plan was easier said than done: “The connection between Kevin (De Bruyne) and Erling (Haaland) is extraordinary, and today we tried to use it as much as possible,” Guardiola said.
While Haaland is usually an in-behind number nine, tonight he did the hard work, dropping into space, often dragging Arsenal centre-half Rob Holding out of position to receive and lay off to one of Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva or an onrushing De Bruyne, who scored the first goal.
Haaland receives a long ball from centre-half John Stones, who pulls Holding out to the halfway line, triggering an instant reaction from De Bruyne.
Haaland shrugs off his marker, De Bruyne loses Thomas Partey and receives the ball, bursting into open space.
Thanks to some individual magic, De Bruyne beats Gabriel and dribbles into open space.
In the blink of an eye, and two passes later, De Bruyne puts City up 1-0 after seven minutes, thanks to a wonderfully-placed finish in the bottom-right corner.
It looks so incredibly simple, yet it is the most difficult thing to do on a football pitch — the basics. From their own box to the other in a matter of seconds.
City exploited that link-up for the rest of the match, with Haaland again slipping De Bruyne through to coolly slot it past Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale for the second time to make it 3-0.
“They were better in every department, more aggressive, they kept the ball better, they won every single duel, we had them in the corners and from there in two passes they were in front of our goal,” Arteta said in his post-match conference.
Guardiola continues to catch managers off-guard by switching up formations and adapting to the players at his disposal. A back four was also at times a back three, allowing an overload in the middle.
John Stones at times provided defensive cover centrally, while Manuel Akanji and Kyle Walker blocked off the wide outlets in Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka. Arsenal could do nothing but lump a ball to Gabriel Jesus in the hope he’s able to hold it long enough to start an attack.
But the overload was often too quick and too effective. Because of the transitional formations, De Bruyne was given extra licence to roam in the attacking phases by Ilkay Gundogan, and in particular Rodri, who was instrumental on the night.
Arsenal could only try to keep up with City. From the off, their energy levels were sub-par. And that’s not to criticise the effort levels of this squad, but rather to understand and highlight how such a gargantuan fixture can impact a group of players on a mental level.
“I don’t think they were scared, but obviously the way we started the game, it didn’t help at all because we put ourselves in trouble in many situations and we lost all the races, we lost all the first and second balls,” Arteta added.
For about nine months, Arsenal have been scrutinised by the entirety of the UK, if not the world; seen as the guys who kicked the hornets’ nest. Ever since then, they’ve been on the run to avoid being stung. Yesterday, that stinger pierced deep.
It can be demoralising to see that the opponent desperately after your spot doesn’t lose an inch of ground during a nine-month chase.
So, in many ways, while Arsenal will be disappointed, they may also feel a massive weight shift off their shoulders — reverting to being the underdogs and not the favourites. Ironically, we might see them back to their best too, as a result.
In terms of what it does to the title race, Opta predicts Manchester City now have a 92 per cent chance of winning it from here – leaving Arsenal with a mere 8 per cent.
“There’s still five games to play. Five. I’ve been almost 22 years in this country, I’ve seen a lot of things and I know how much it shifts from game to game,” Arteta said. Guardiola, too, remained coy about his team’s chances.
“It’s not decisive, but it’s really, really important,” he said. “The next three games will dictate a lot (…) but the most important thing is that our destiny is in our hands.”
Manchester City face Fulham next at Craven Cottage, where three points would see them top of the league with a game in hand. Arsenal host a struggling Chelsea, where they will feel no more mistakes can be made.
Arteta admitted that they’ll likely have to hit 90 points (the highest they can reach) to even stand a chance of lifting the Premier League trophy, the rest will be in City’s hands.
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