Actor Tom Hiddleston told Sky Sports earlier this week that Arsenal’s place in the league table is a privilege. It was an honor to be chased by Manchester City, led by none other than Pep Guardiola.
But after what happened on Sunday night, City may not be the chasers for long. Indeed, Mikel Arteta’s side were clearly uninspired by Hiddleston’s words. It was not a performance that would have made an Asgardian god proud.
The Gunners were certainly better than last week against Bournemouth. However, they have lost their last two games 1-2, giving up a nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
There is currently a three-point difference, and if Man City beat Burnley in midweek, they will easily take the lead at the top of the division. How Arsenal got into this situation is completely unbelievable.
What went wrong in Arsenal vs. Man City?
When the team sheet was released on Sunday afternoon, the key thing supporters expected was that Arteta had learned from not only the defeat in the Carabao Cup final, but also from the loss to Bournemouth a week earlier.
Luckily for them, he did. This was a different Arsenal team. This was the fourth time Ebelesi Eze and Martin Odegaard started together. Eze broke through on the left and Odegaard through the center. It worked for some parts of the game. The Gunners looked more creative than they have in recent weeks.
Up front was Kai Havertz, who started in place of Victor Goqueres, and at right-back was Cristian Mosquera, who played ahead of Ben White. Arteta has often been tactically stubborn this season, but not here. To his credit, his guys played well. They were not embarrassed at Etihad Airways. But on Sunday, all that mattered was the result. Arsenal needed at least one point to keep City at bay. they didn’t. Once again, they lacked the killer instinct.
However, not many players could have stopped Rayan Cherki’s opening goal. The Frenchman flashed his toes as usual, danced a cheerful jig into the penalty area and found the back of the net. Havertz reacted almost immediately and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a big mistake, but to tell you the truth, it was the best moment of the match for the German.
He could have and should have scored two more goals, but he could have etched Arsenal’s name on the Premier League trophy. He missed a one-on-one as he slipped past Odegaard and headed home from close range in one of the final actions of the match. It was a free header and could have saved him a point. Sadly, it was Erling Haaland who had the last laugh by scoring the winning goal in the 65th minute (when?). It was 30 minutes before Havertz’s chance was eagerly awaited.
Haaland beats Arsenal again
Only two Manchester City players have scored more goals than Haaland against Arsenal (six goals). There are no prizes depending on who you guess. Yes, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne (8).
His strike against the Gunners on Sunday was typical of him, but Gabriel Magalhães was too slow for his strength and didn’t look too good for the Norwegian, who beat David Raya with a clunky but smart finish.
Truth be told, this was Gabriel’s worst performance of the season, and perhaps the club’s worst. You certainly have to go back a few years to find something worse. It was his fault that he was easily overtaken by Cherki even when he scored the first goal.
For much of this campaign, the Brazilian has been hailed as one of the best defenders on the planet. At the start of the season, Jamie Carragher even said he was the “most influential player in the Premier League”. Well, like his colleagues, he hasn’t been doing too well lately.
Gabriel, a master of set-piece shenanigans, hasn’t actually scored since January 3. That’s not a defender’s job, but his lack of goals probably explains some of the problems Arsenal are having. They rely on set pieces and it is probably no coincidence that they have struggled to get results without them.
Regardless of whether Gabriel had a say inside the opposition box, he definitely had a say inside himself, even if for the wrong reasons. He was treated badly by Haaland. To be honest, it was shades of Rob Holding, plucked from pillar to post by City’s giant Norwegian forward at the Etihad in April 2023.
Three years on and there was no sign of holding, but the ghost of that performance lives on through Gabriel’s play, almost made worse by what should have been a red card.
Immediately after tearing off the striker’s shirt, the two literally went head-to-head. The defender nudged his head towards the Norwegian, which would normally be shown as a red, but was only given a yellow card by Anthony Taylor.
Gabriel was a very lucky boy. It was a stupid decision and on another day he might have tried to take an early bath.
The Brazilian megastar has been sensational for much of the season, but his performance this weekend was a throwback to his early days at Arsenal. Chaotic and devoid of any kind of composure, he will no doubt worry his manager ahead of the run-in.
For the Gunners, it will be back to square one. There is no time to lick their wounds. Now it’s time for them to really show how much they want this Premier League title. Will they collapse like Trump or will they face City until the final day of the season?
