Man City 4-1 Arsenal: 3 talking points as Gunners thumped at Etihad

Manchester City took a big step towards the Premier League title with a 3-1 dismantling of Arsenal at the Etihad as Pep Guardiola’s side put a poor Gunners outfit to the sword.

Manchester City dominated the entire first half as Arsenal struggled to get anything going. Kevin De Bruyne’s early goal after six minutes sent the home side on their way, and the domination continued.

With the score at 1-0 near the end of the half, City doubled their lead thanks to a John Stones header. After initially being ruled out for offside, VAR intervened, and the goal was given as City held a commanded lead at half-time.

City started the second half as they ended the first, with De Bruyne scoring City’s third after a misplaced pass from Martin Odegaard to end the game as a contest.

Rob Holding got one goal back for Arsenal in the 86th minute after some good work from Leandro Trossard as the Gunners didn’t roll over.

Erling Haaland eventually got his goal in the last minute of injury time to rubber-stamp a brutal performance from City.

Man City 4-1 Arsenal: 3 talking points as Gunners thumped at Etihad

The game provided plenty of talking points, here they are.

1. Long ball City undoes Arsenal yet again

It was how City got the best of Arsenal at the Emirates last time, and it proved the way forward yet again. Long balls up to Haaland, and the Gunners backline simply couldn’t cope with the City runners who fed off the striker’s flick-ons.

Too many times, a long ball lifted up to Haaland caused the Gunners all sorts of problems, and it was the catalyst for the first De Bruyne goal.

Would William Saliba have made a difference? Possibly but City were irresistible in the first half and Arsenal couldn’t cope.

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2. Worst time for worst performance

It has been somewhat of a theme over the last month, but when Arteta’s youthful outfit needed to show up in the biggest spot… they haven’t.

At the Etihad, the Gunners were played off the park by a ruthless City side as Arteta’s team had no answer to anything the hosts threw at them.

With the loss, City essentially have two hands on the league title with a handful of games to go.

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3. Champions League football officially clinched

While the City loss undoubtedly stings, there was some good news. With Nottingham City’s defeat of Brighton, the Gunners have officially clinched Champions League football next season.

At the beginning of the campaign, that was the goal for Arteta, and his side have accomplished their primary aim with five games remaining.

The title race very well may be over, but at least the one thing the Gunners wanted out of this has come to fruition. It’s a small win, but a win nonetheless.