April 26 – Manchester City took a major step towards their third consecutive title and cemented their claims of winning the treble by defeating Arsenal 4-1.
At least Arsenal didn’t concede after just 30 seconds as they did in their last match, but things didn’t go any better as they were thoroughly dismantled by a relentless City side in Manchester.
In the sixth minute, Erling Haaland’s textbook centre-forward play released Kevin De Bruyne, who swerved a bit to the right and dispatched a perfect finish, scoring a stunning route-one goal with reversed roles for the Norwegian, who was the provider, and the Belgian, who was the scorer.
Arsenal struggled to deal with City’s fearsome attacking partnership, with Haaland more often in a providing role than not. The link-up play between the two was too much for the visitors to cope with, and it was a miracle that City had not scored more after 30 minutes.
The balance of power and the gulf in class between the two sides was evident as Arsenal struggled to hang on, and the inevitable arrived on the stroke of half-time when John Stones scored a fine header, connecting with De Bruyne’s 16th assist of the season, ending Arsenal’s hope of a comeback.
In reality, the title showdown was a non-event; it was boys against men. In the second half, De Bruyne grabbed a second goal, brilliantly slotting it through the legs of Rob Holding, who had suffered torment at the hands of Haaland all evening. Arsenal dearly missed William Saliba. Ironically, it was Holding who got on the scoreboard first with a late strike. But in a landmark victory for Pep Guardiola’s team, Haaland had the last say with a cool injury-time finish, 4-1.
The victory was a statement of City’s power and achievements. With the three points, they nudge closer to Arsenal and sit just two points off their lead with two games in hand. It would be a remarkable failure if Man City don’t go on to win a fifth title in six seasons. They will play Manchester United in the FA Cup final and can dream of a treble with a semi-final against Real Madrid coming up in the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Arsenal can reflect on a season of significant progress, though it will be with frustration. They have not won the title since 2003-04, but it’s the first time Arsenal have challenged for the league in the post-Wenger era.
In recent weeks however, the London club ran out of gas with underwhelming performances against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton, precursors to Wednesday’s humiliation. At least, the Londoners can look forward to the return of Champions League action at the Emirates Stadium next season.
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