Man City beat Arsenal 2-1 to reignite title race

Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday in a pulsating Premier League clash that has thrown the title race wide open, cutting the gap between the two sides to just three points.

Goals from Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland secured the win for Pep Guardiola’s side, with Kai Havertz’s equaliser giving Arsenal brief hope before Haaland settled the contest in the 65th minute.

Arsenal had gone into the match six points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand, meaning a win would have given them a nine-point cushion and effectively one hand on the trophy. Instead, City’s victory means that if they win their game in hand, the two sides will be level on points.

Advertisement

“Very big obviously,” Bernardo Silva said after the match. “That puts us in the position if we win the game in hand, we’re on the same points. A few weeks ago, this didn’t look a very likely scenario. A tough game, a good game, we’re happy that we can be on the same points.”

The game burst into life in the 16th minute when Cherki picked up the ball and danced through the Arsenal defence with silky feet, beating several defenders before tucking it beautifully into the bottom corner beyond David Raya’s right hand. The joy was short-lived for City, however. Just 107 seconds later, Arsenal were level when goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma took a heavy touch, allowing Havertz to chase him down and deflect the clearance into an open goal.

The two sides went into the break level at 1-1 after a breathless first half that also saw both teams hit the woodwork twice, the only Premier League match this season where both sides managed that feat.

City retook the lead on the hour mark when Donnarumma hurled the ball out to Nico O’Reilly beyond halfway. O’Reilly found Jeremy Doku, who played it square back to O’Reilly, who in turn picked out Haaland to finish into the bottom corner. It was Haaland’s sixth Premier League goal against Arsenal in eight appearances against the Gunners, a record bettered only by Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne in matches between the two clubs.

Arsenal pushed desperately for an equaliser in the closing stages. Gabriel headed onto the post from a free-kick, and Kai Havertz headed fractionally over the bar in stoppage time from a Leandro Trossard delivery. Both Gabriel and Haaland were booked after a skirmish in the 83rd minute, while Guardiola himself was shown a yellow card for his complaints on the touchline.

The defeat means Arsenal have now lost back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time since December 2023, ending a five-game unbeaten run against City in the process.

Pundit Michael Owen described it as a match that had everything. “Phenomenal game! Huge intensity, the drama right to the last kick of the game! It was just unbelievable. It’s not over, it’s definitely not over, but Manchester City now have got a right chance of winning the title yet again!”

Pundit Martin Keown took a different view from an Arsenal perspective. “I’m sitting here as a proud Arsenal man. I don’t see anybody from an Arsenal perspective heading off this pitch with their heads down. They’ve given a good account of themselves. It’s certainly not over, there’s plenty of football left in the Premier League.”

Guardiola, meanwhile, has now won seven of eight Premier League matches when leading a side in second place against the league leaders, winning all four such occasions in the Premier League, a record he shares with Sir Alex Ferguson.