Arsenal may have finally secured their return to Champions League football for the first time in seven years on Wednesday night, however that was not the focus as the Gunners unfortunately saw their title dreams become extremely unlikely as Manchester City comfortably saw off Arteta’s side 4-1 at the Etihad stadium.
The young Gunners have showed so much progress in a season where no one expected them to be as high as they have been, being top of the league for the majority of the season. And although they still remain there for now, Manchester City’s two games in hand mean they are the outright favourites to win the 2022/23 Premier League title. Arsenal got off to the worst possible start seven minutes into the clash, with a long ball from John Stones completely cutting through the Arsenal press, Erling Haaland shoved off Rob Holding and played through De Bruyne who smashed the ball low and hard past Ramsdale as the Belgian continues to be Arsenal’s nemesis. The Gunners looked shellshocked and apart from an effort wide from Thomas Partey from the edge of the box, the away side didn’t get close to the Manchester City goal.
Aaron Ramsdale made a number of strong stops and Ben White made one superb block to deny De Bruyne as Arsenal looked to go into half-time with the score only at 1-0. However, a free kick in the last minute of the first half was turned in with a header from Stones following a VAR check, the Englishman looked to have been offside however the goal was eventually awarded to end a miserable first half for the Gunners.
And the second half started pretty much how the first half went from the beginning. With De Bruyne getting his second of the contest after Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard gave the ball away in the middle of the park. Rob Holding could do little to prevent the Manchester City midfielder from slotting home to make it 3-0 and securing the win for the reigning champions.
Despite all the misery, Arsenal were able to grab a goal for themselves. With substitute Leandro Trossard finding Rob Holding who slot home an effort past Ederson to bring the gap to 3-1. However City would reclaim their three-goal advantage when Erling Haaland grabbed a deserved goal in the dying minutes.
Arsenal and Arteta will feel sorry for themselves having lost this vital clash, however even though the title may seem unlikely now, it can’t be seen as fully over just yet. Although they will need to get back to winning ways against a struggling Chelsea at Emirates Stadium to keep the dream just about alive.
Player Ratings:
Aaron Ramsdale: 7 – Arsenal’s only decent performer. Could do nothing about the goals and without him it would’ve been a lot worse
Ben White: 6 – Arsenal’s best defender. Made a brilliant block in the first half
Rob Holding: 3 – Scored but it has to be said, the Englishman had a shocker. Got turned inside out all night and looked out of his depth
Gabriel: 4 – Not as bad as Holding but little better
Oleksandr Zinchenko: 4 – Like many of his teammates, could barely get in the game
Thomas Partey: 3 – Really poor from the Ghanaian. A man who’s usually so dependable but is experiencing a tough few weeks
Granit Xhaka: 4 – Not necessary awful but just couldn’t have any impact whatsoever
Martin Odegaard: 3 – Disappointing from the captain. Anonymous all afternoon and was at fault for the third goal
Bukayo Saka: 5 – Had some moments but barely got in the game
Gabriel Jesus: 5 – (See above)
Gabriel Martinelli: 4 – A man in fine form of late but couldn’t get a kick all night