Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal

City move one step closer to fragile leaders Arsenal after Haaland winner secures three title-defining points at the Etihad.

Manchester City pile yet more pressure on Arsenal thanks to clinical finishes from Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland. Pep Guardiola’s men maintain Arsenal’s unconvincing Premier League record at the Etihad, meaning the last time the Gunners’ secured three points in Manchester was back in January 2015.

The attention of all football fans turned to this title-shaping spectacle, with Manchester City knowing that three points was the only option to keep their title hopes alive. City started on top (despite

Mosquera coming close from a set-piece in the 6th minute), with Cherki seeing his effort ricochet off Gabriel’s shoulder and onto the frame of the goal.

However, the Frenchman wasn’t done there, as he danced around the lunging Arsenal defence and slotted the ball past Raya into the bottom left corner, making it his 25th goal involvement for City since

his introduction to the Premier League back in August.

But perhaps City got too comfortable being one up so early, as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s casual clearance was charged down by the resilient Havertz into the City goal, making it 1-1 just 107 seconds after the Cherki opener. Since then, the frantic pace of the game was somewhat quelled, with Man City still enjoying the majority of possession as Arsenal maintained a deeper defensive structure. The first half came to an end with limited chances.

Arteta didn’t hesitate to roll the dice as Madueke’s afternoon came to an abrupt end, seeing Gabriel Martinelli take his place on the rightwing. The game seemed to open up more and more, with Haaland

clipping the outside of the post early on and a delicious Rodri ball set Semenyo through on goal, only for the Ghanan international’s heavy first touch to roll into the relieved arms of David Raya.

Once again, the woodwork was rattled as Eberechi Eze turned and cut onto his left foot, sending a bending effort from outside the box toward goal, only to be denied by the frame. Arsenal came at City

with a more evident spring in their step, only to be pegged back as Nico O’Reilly sent in a dangerous low cross into the box, and although squandering some great chances earlier, there was no hope of keeping Erling Haaland quiet for long. The Norwegian wrestled his way out of Gabriel’s grasp and slotted the ball past the outstretched Raya into the back of the net, sending the Etihad into a state of absolute jubilance.

The matchup between Haaland and Gabriel has been an eye-catcher for years, and many City fans on social media have been making their feelings clear on the collision between the two, saying Gabriel’s

attempted headbutt on the City striker deserved a red card, but Anthony Taylor and VAR waved it on, claiming that both members were egging each other on. Two yellow cards were shown to both of

them, but that didn’t calm down the tension as the wrestling continued until the final whistle.

Arteta turned to his bench once again, bringing on Viktor Gyökeres and Leandro Trossard, but neither player could cause any major trouble to the City back line. As the clock crept ever closer to the final whistle, Trossard sent in a brilliant cross from the right hand side into a dangerous area, and Kai Havertz leapt up to meet it, only to send his header just over the bar.

Anthony Taylor blew his whistle signalling full time, and the Etihad eruption just shows how pivotal these three points are for Manchester City, now meaning that the 8-time league champions come just three points behind Arsenal still with a game in hand. City head to Turf Moor on Wednesday evening to face Burnley and the Gunners wait until the weekend to welcome struggling Newcastle to the Emirates.

Hats off to Player of the Match Bernardo Silva, who was immense in the midfield alongside Rodri and Cherki, dictating the entire pace of the game. His announcement that he was to leave Manchester at the

end of the season came as a real shock to City fans; he has been incredibly consistent throughout his nine years at the club, playing over 450 games, scoring 78 goals and providing 75 assists. A true City legend and all football fans will agree it’ll be a big shame to see him leave the Premier League if another English club don’t snatch him up.