It was described as a title decider between the two best teams in England but by the end it felt almost like an FA Cup tie against a lower league opponent for Manchester City, who completely tore Arsenal apart in a brilliant performance to win comfortably 4-1.
Two goals from Kevin De Bruyne and a goal each for John Stones and Erling Haaland settled the match. Haaland now has 49 goals this season for City and in the process broke the Premier League record for goals in a 38-game season with 32 (since 1992). Rob Holding scored a consolation goal for Arsenal but it meant very little as they were ripped apart.
The game at the Etihad Stadium was billed as master against apprentice, Pep Guardiola meeting his former assistant Mikel Arteta in a match that could have seen Arsenal increase the gap at the top of the league to eight points. The two managers are clever tacticians and the anticipation was for a chess match between the two teams.
When the team news came in Arteta commented that “there are no left footers in the Manchester City team, so for sure they have worked on something. Like we have,” with a confident, cheeky gleam in his eye. He looked to be relishing the tactical battle with his former mentor.
But when the game got going both he and his team were outsmarted, outfought and overrun by a far superior City team who showed everybody why they have been so dominant for the past five years.
Rather than engage in a midfield war of attrition, Pep’s tactic of choice for this game was to bypass Arsenal’s press and go long. Patient short passes around their own box before a long ball up to Haaland was City’s plan, with De Bruyne running off the powerful Norwegian into the spaces left behind Arsenal’s midfield two of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka.
The first goal came in this way. A long pass upfield was brought down by Haaland who outmuscled Rob Holding and laid it off to De Bruyne. The Belgian’s brilliant run saw him power past Gabriel and fire a superb effort into the net with only seven minutes played. 1-0.
De Bruyne, once again the best and most clutch player on the pitch, explained the tactic with almost as much simplicity as he seems to play the game. “They marked with man to man pressure so we tried to go longer to Haaland,” he said. “We normally play with two eights but I was allowed to go left or right and find the space.”
“In this shape,” said Pep Guardiola on De Bruyne, “he can move behind Partey and Xhaka, move with a little bit of freedom and we contact with him for the long balls and second balls to connect with Erling upfront.”
He certainly did this in style. De Bruyne’s game intelligence, timing of when to run and choice of whether to run left or right behind Arsenal’s midfield was majestic to watch. He is the best player in the Premier League and the one key difference maker. He is him.
When coupled in forward areas with Haaland the tactic worked superbly, stretching Arsenal’s man-to-man pressure and opening huge spaces. Haaland scored one but could actually have scored at least three and was quite wasteful in front of goal. Nonetheless he picked up a goal and two assists, even if he was denied his 50th goal of the season by some smart shot-stopping from Aaron Ramsdale.
The absence of William Saliba through injury was a blow for Arsenal, but they looked like boys against men. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli were barely seen throughout, while Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko struggled to get any foothold in the game. “They were the better team” Arteta admitted. Arsenal have now lost their last ten games against City.
While City were formidable against Bayern Munich this was perhaps their best performance of the season so far, in the most important game. They are almost becoming the complete team at the moment.
If you drop deep and defend, they can out-pass you. If you play high and pressure man-to-man like Arsenal, they can exploit the space in behind with 70 yard passes from their nonchalant goalkeeper Ederson up to Haaland. If you try and get aggressive, they have a nasty streak too. Jack Grealish and Haaland in particular were roughed up on occasions but showed they are up for a fight.
They are excellent in possession and now also extremely good out of possession, playing with patience, composure and defensive solidity. John Stones must be a candidate for one of the best central defenders in Europe.
City now take a big advantage in the title race, though they have two games more to play than Arsenal and still have to fit two huge games against Real Madrid in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League. They are also in the final of the FA Cup.
Could they win the treble? Given this destruction of Arsenal, their recent form and their past experience, it would be foolish to write them off. “Our next three games are vital” Pep said post-match. Arsenal will keep optimistic, but six wins from City’s last seven league games and they would be champions. The real question after this game is – how do you stop them?