Man City Defeats Arsenal to win the Premier League race
On Wednesday, resurgent champions Manchester City defeated championship rivals Arsenal 3-1 to knock the Gunners off the top of the Premier League.
With a merciless exhibition of finishing that put them ahead of Arsenal on goal differential, Pep Guardiola's team shown that they are not willing to give up the crown.
At the Emirates Stadium, Kevin De Bruyne gave City the lead in the first half. Although Bukayo Saka tied the score with a contentious penalty, Jack Grealish delivered the game-changing blow in the second half by giving the visitors the lead once more.
In the dying minutes, City's Erling Haaland scored his 26th goal in 22 league games to end Arsenal's chances.
City seized the lead in the title chase in the most anticipated Premier League matchup of the year.
Despite the fact that Arsenal still have a game to play that might swing the outcome back in their favour, City left the stadium with renewed confidence that they can win their bid for a fifth championship in as many years.
Guardiola's team has triumphed in four of their previous five league contests, while Arsenal has struggled. A month ago, Guardiola's team trailed Arsenal by eight points.
The Premier League last week accused City of breaking more than 100 of its financial regulations between 2009 and 2018, casting a shadow over their title defence.
But with City scheduled to visit Arsenal on April, the race may still come to a spectacular conclusion 26 in what appears to be a game that will either make or break both clubs.
Arsenal, trying to win the Premier League for the first time since 2003–2004, was unable to contain City's seasoned stars.
The club of Mikel Arteta has lost its previous four games in all competitions, falling to City in the FA Cup, then suffering a shock loss at Everton, and drawing with Brentford on Saturday.
Before joining Arsenal, Arteta served as Guardiola's assistant at City, where he learned the difficulties of deceiving the master.
In seven of their eight matches, Guardiola has defeated Arteta, and this was by far the most significant. In the 24th minute, Grealish pressured Takehiro Tomiyasu into making a poor backpass, giving City the advantage.
With a superbly weighted chip from the edge of the area that flew past keeper Aaron Ramsdale and into the goal, De Bruyne capitalised on the error.
The Belgian midfielder De Bruyne's first goal since October—and just his fourth overall—was a rare respite in a trying season.
Three minutes before halftime, Arsenal arguably tied the game.
Ederson rushed off his line and collided with Eddie Nketiah as he glanced a shot goalward from a tight angle for Arsenal, just before Nathan Ake cleared the ball off the line.
It appeared that Ederson was attempting to back out of the challenge, but Anthony Despite City's vehement objections, Taylor gave a penalty, and Saka went up to hit Ederson with a fearless blow.
After the break, the tenseness increased as De Bruyne shoved Arteta and the Arsenal manager prevented him from retrieving the ball, setting off an argument.
City preserved their composure in the midst of a chaotic battle and steadily tightened the screws.
The Norway star was marginally offside when he collected a ball from Kyle Walker, therefore the penalty that Gabriel committed against Haaland was reversed.
However, in the 72nd minute, a sweeping move broke past the Arsenal defence as a result of City's pressure.
Gabriel lost control of the ball far too quickly, and passes were exchanged by Silva, Haaland, and Ilkay Gundogan Before Grealish put the finishing touches on the play, blasting a deflected shot past Ramsdale to cause Guardiola to jump up and down in celebration on the sidelines.
In the 82nd minute, Haaland secured the victory by blasting the ball from De Bruyne's cross into the far corner to highlight City's ambition to defend their title.