Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland sealed a superb 3-1 win for Manchester City at Arsenal that sends Pep Guardiola’s team to the top of the Premier League table at the Gunners’ expense.
Mikel Arteta’s men are only off the top on goal difference and have a game in hand on their rivals but well-worked goals for Grealish and Haaland inside the final 20 minutes suggested a crucial momentum shift in the title race.
City led against the run of play in the 24th minute when Takehiro Tomiyasu looked to guide Ederson’s clearance back to Aaron Ramsdale and Kevin De Bruyne stole in to loop a first-time finish into the net — an ideal time for his first goal since October.
Saka levelled three minutes before the break after Ederson was penalised for colliding with Eddie Nketiah when the striker got off a shot that was cleared off the line by Nathan Ake. But City put any frustration behind them and moved into the ascendency to claim a hard-earned win that was capped by Haaland’s 26th Premier League goal of the season.
Arsenal vs Man City final score
1H 2H Final
ARS 1 0 1
MCI 1 2 3
Goals:
MCI — Kevin De Bruyne — 24th minute.
ARS — Bukayo Saka (penalty) — 42nd minute.
MCI — Jack Grealish (Ilkay Gundogan) — 72nd minute.
MCI — Erling Haaland (Kevin De Bruyne) — 82nd minute.
Nketiah had the first clear opening of the game when he headed off target from Oleksandr Zinchenko’s searching cross shortly before De Bruyne displayed a clinical edge that the Arsenal centre-forward lacked.
Tomiyasu — a surprise inclusion ahead of Ben White at right-back – was culpable as he played a blind backpass towards Ramsdale, allowing De Bruyne to steal in and loop a left-footed finish over the Gunners goalkeeper.
Arsenal responded impressively to going behind, with Ederson’s booking for time-wasting indicative of City’s discomfort. Things got worse for the Brazil goalkeeper when he was adjudged to have fouled Nketiah and his attempts at kidology were no match for Saka’s ice-cool precision.
If City’s performance before halftime showed the frailties that have hindered their season so far, their display after the interval showed the gigantic character of a team that have been crowned champions in four of the past five seasons.
Nketiah failed to get on the end of a wonderful Tomiyasu cross in the 66th minute but such moments of encouragement were becoming few and far between for Arsenal and Haaland passed unselfishly to Ilkay Gundogan in the 72nd minute after Bernardo Silva snaffled Gabriel’s poor pass.
Gundogan recycled possession for Grealish to do the rest via a slight deflection and the sight of Gundogan, Rodri and De Bruyne smoothly combining to set up Haaland for the game-sealing goal underlined a considerable statement of intent.
Pep Guardiola: My tactics were horrible
“First half they were much better than us, second half we were much better,” Guardiola told Amazon Prime afterwards. “At half time we said you cannot play always defending. They are so, so good but we need to be more active. Second half we were excellent.”
So, why was that? “My tactics. I decided something new and it was horrible. We let them play in the build-up with our shape. Second half we were more like we are.”
It’s unlikely we’d have got this level of self-deprecation and honesty had City failed to turn things around, but it was a reminder that Guardiola is still working a few things out this season. For the second time in a week, Bernardo Silva lined up as an inverted left-back. The City boss’ halftime tweaks were decisive and his switch to a more conventional back four — bringing Manuel Akanji on for Riyad Mahrez and adding Silva to the attacking press — served to make things horrible for Arsenal.
£100m Jack Grealish finds priceless contribution
City’s stuttering form since the World Cup, not to mention the storm engulfing the club off the field in the form of 115 charges for allegedly breaking Premier League rules, has obscured a couple of developments. One of these is Jack Grealish producing his best and most sustained run of form in a City shirt.
By his own admission, Grealish’s adaptation to life under Guardiola has not been seamless. But he is benefiting from a consistent run in the side and racking up a collection of vital contributions.
“For me, it was a great night, that’s what I want to do. I want to affect these big games,” he said. “When I scored at Old Trafford [in last month’s Manchester derby] I was buzzing but then we went and lost 2-1, so it didn’t really mean anything. I was buzzing tonight.” His game-breaking goal could come to mean an awful lot come May and it nestles alongside four assists in all competitions since the World Cup break.
Note: This article is taen from sportingnews.com