Manchester City crush Arsenal’s title hopes with 4-1 win

Manchester City landed the killer blow in the Premier League title race on Wednesday night as Pep Guardiola’s side thrashed Arsenal 4-1 to close the gap to the leaders on the table. It was a complete performance from the defending champions as a brace from Kevin de Bruyne and goals from John Stones and Erling Haaland lifted the home side to a comprehensive win over their championship rivals.

On a night billed as the title decider, Manchester City showed that there was only one team worthy of being champions as they dominated their opponents from start to finish. The hosts pressed intensely from the first whistle and took just seven minutes to break the deadlock and open the scoring.

Erling Haaland outmuscled Rob Holding on the halfway line before teeing up Kevin de Bruyne into acres of space, who ran rings around Gabriel and unleashed a stinging shot past Aaron Ramsdale into the bottom corner from outside the box. The early goal galvanised the partisan crowd at the Etihad, and Manchester City launched wave after wave of attack throughout the first period.

De Bruyne had another shot blocked by Ben White following a counter-attack, while Aaron Ramsdale made a flurry of saves to deny Erling Haaland. The Norwegian was unplayable for large parts of the first half and had three shots saved by the English goalkeeper while another zipped just wide off the post.  

City eventually doubled their lead on the brink of half-time through a set-piece, with John Stones converting Kevin de Bruyne’s cross. The defender’s goal was initially pulled up for offside by the referee, but a VAR check showed that the Englishman was played onside by Ben White, allowing the goal to stand.

City started the second half just as they ended the first, with Haaland and de Bruyne teaming up again to score a third. The Norwegian released the Belgian midfielder with another clever pass, who threaded the ball through Rob Holding’s legs to make it 3-0.

Arsenal dug in after de Bruyne’s second, showing some resistance to the City juggernaut and even finding a late consolation, with Rob Holding rifling the ball past Ederson in the 86th minute. However, City responded with equal measure as Haaland struck in injury time, converting a sweet first-time finish in the box to score a record 33rd league goal this season.

This victory sees Manchester City close the gap to Arsenal at the top of the league to just two points with two games in hand, putting Pep Guardiola’s side in the driving seat to win their fifth Premier League title in the last six seasons.