Manchester City beat the Gunners 2-1 with a goal from Erling Haaland, strangling Arsenal in what could be a decisive blow to the English Premier League title race.
Haaland picked the perfect time to end their doldrums with a decisive victory over the Football League leaders to give his side an edge in the title race on Sunday.
The Norwegian had not scored in the league since February, but his outstanding goal after 65 minutes of a heated game at the Etihad Stadium proved decisive.
Josep Guardiola’s side have moved to within three points of the leaders and are riding high on momentum as Arsenal’s quest for a first league title in 22 years becomes clearer.
After losing to City in last month’s League Cup final, Mikel Arteta’s side now have one win in six competitive games, including four consecutive defeats in domestic competitions.
Victory over relegation-placed Burnley on Wednesday would take City top of the table for the first time this year, but Haaland admitted every game will be like a “final” for his side.
After the game, he said, “Every game is a final.” “We have to focus on our recovery and prepare for Burnley. As important as this game is, we have to stay humble and focus on the next game.”
Outgoing City captain Bernardo Silva praised the number nine.
“Erling was fantastic today,” Silva told Sky Sports. “It’s not easy to play against such a strong centre-back. He fought like an animal.”
Silva admitted the win was a big moment for the league.
“(The win) is huge because if we win the games we have, we will be in an advantageous position with the same points,” he said.
“Two weeks ago, this scenario didn’t seem very likely. I’m glad to be on the same page.”
Having finished second in the last three seasons, Arsenal are in danger of another big chance to end their long wait to be crowned English football champions.
They will also regret the misfortune of hitting the post twice in the game in which Haaland scored the winning goal in the second half.
After taking the lead with Rayan Cherki’s superb solo strike, City gave the visitors a route back into the game when Kai Havertz forced home Gianluigi Donnarumma’s attempt to equalize. But the difference in quality up front proved the difference.
Haaland burst on to score his 34th goal of the season 25 minutes into the game, and Havertz headed home a great chance late in second-half stoppage time.
Guardiola’s side looked set to exploit Arsenal’s fears with a strong start.
Cherki’s deflected shot hit the post and City’s penalty claim against Gabriel Magalhães for handball was ignored.
The visiting side were just beginning to gain a foothold when Cherki’s moment of magic broke through the Gunners’ notoriously mean defence. The France international fended off challenges from Gabriel and Declan Rice and calmly slotted his goal into the bottom corner.
But Arsenal were given an immediate lifeline thanks to Donnarumma’s disaster.
The giant Italian posed a threat for Arteta’s side when he played for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals last season. But he handed them a gift as he drove hard, allowing Havertz to try to clear into the top corner.
The nature of the equalizer meant City lost momentum and it took until Guardiola’s half-time team talk for the hosts to regain control.
Haaland should have scored by hitting the post after Arsenal failed to clear a corner, but it was two troubling moments for Arsenal should they fail to end their long wait for the title.
Donnarumma recovered with a big save in a one-on-one with Havertz, but Martin Odegaard’s follow-up shot was deflected wide by Matheus Nunez.
Moments later, Eberechi Eze hit the inside of the post, but the ball rolled agonizingly along the line instead of into Donnarumma’s goal.
City pounced on their moment of good fortune and regained the lead. Haaland outpaced Gabriel to meet Nico O’Reilly’s cross and fire past David Raya to score.
Arsenal were again thwarted by the woodwork as Gabriel’s header hit O’Reilly and deflected off the post, with Havertz unable to convert the rebound.
Gabriel was then lucky to remain on the field after receiving only a yellow card for an attempted headbutt on Haaland.
However, Havertz had a chance to level the score with a sweet cross from Leandro Trossard, but was unable to save his header.
Arteta fell to the ground in disbelief, but now has the task of preparing his players for the final five games of the season.
Arsenal have a good record on paper, but once again they seem to have run out of steam at a crucial moment.
Arteta regretted his team’s missed scoring opportunities.
“When you don’t[take chances]and they have individual quality, that’s the risk,” said the former Man City assistant coach.
“There’s an element of luck in whether the ball goes in or not. For the second goal, the ball was deflected and went to Haaland. There’s also the personal qualities of being cool, precise and ruthless. You have to be there.”
“You could see the attitude of the team until the end of the game. We could have been more calm in certain moments, but we definitely got the game into the zone we wanted.”
Despite the loss, the Spaniard said the team has time to reset before the next game.
“We missed a big chance today. But we still have five (games) left. There are still a lot of positives from today.”
