MATCH IN FOCUS

1-3 Arsenal Man City

Pep proved too much for Arteta, but can Arsenal evade the champions anyway?

Raahan Mehta And Ezzie Brass

Despite Arsenal being eight points clear at the top of the league four weeks ago, they found themselves level with Manchester City and without a win in the previous four competitive matches.

The immense weight resting on the fixture was reflected in the atmosphere in the Emirates, crackling long before kick- off. Arsenal started brightly but City took the lead, courtesy of a sublime De Bruyne chip, capitalising fully on a gift from Takehuro Tomiyasu. Ederson’s searching clearance fell to the right back who, with Grealish snapping at his heels, tried to play it back to Ramsdale. With the keeper caught in no man’s land, and Saliba no where to be seen, De Bruyne latched onto the loose ball before guiding it first time into the near post. Clinical.

Arsenal however showed no signs of losing hope. As the half drew to a close Xhaka disposessed Gundogan on the half way line and found Nketiah who was met by the outrushing Ederson. Nketiah managed to make fluffed contact which Ake cleared off the line. However, Anthony Taylor deemed the follow through contact from Ederson sufficient to award a penalty. The dubious call meant Saka levelled the score from the spot, leaving both teams deservedly level at half time.

In the second half, Man City reminded us why they have enjoyed so much success in the last decade. Completely rutheless, they drowned out the lively gunners to regain top spot. Under the kosh and antagonistic gaze of the 60,000 or so home fans, it was a riveting display. Two well worked goals from Grealish and Haaland sealed the win for the blues after a much-improved second half performance. After a potential penalty was dismissed for offside, another Arsenal mistake allowed Bernardo Silva to play in Haaland, who found Gundogan. His deft touch set up Grealish’ side footed drive past Ramsdale, which found the back of the net with the help of a slight deflection. As Arsenal looked to rectify the damage, City smelt blood as the game opened up tenfold. Just 10 minutes later Haaland was in on the act. The high press was executed perfectly, with a succession of passes from Rodri to Gundogan, and then in behind to De Bruyne. Without looking up, he knew exactly where the prolific Norwegian was standing, poised perfectly to take a touch and guide the ball home. As City hit delirium, Pep showed his apprentice that the big boys are back.

Arsenal’s levels throughout this season haven’t been matched by anyone in the league, yet this rut they find themselves in may prove to be costly and they’ll pay the ultimate price if they can’t get back to levels we saw from them before the World Cup. Since their defeat to City, they have seemed to recover with a narrow victory against Villa and 1-0 against Leicester. Some would argue this is a sign of asserting dominance, with a two point lead and game in hand, whilst some see the two tight scorelines as unconvincing.

Since City’s recent slip-up, Arsenal are back in pole position and no doubt their destiny remains in their own hands.