Manchester City is now in first place in the Premier League rankings, passing Arsenal in the meantime, and the club has been cautioned that the remaining games will be a “psychological marathon.”
The reigning champions moved back into first place for the first time since November 5 thanks to a victory that they earned at the Emirates Stadium by a score of 3-1. Arsenal’s current losing streak against Manchester City stands at 11, making it the longest losing streak against a single opponent in the Premier League.
Match Report: Arsenal vs Manchester City
The defending champions were able to defeat the Gunners by a score of 3-1 thanks to goals scored by Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Erling Haaland. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Magalhaes made some mistakes on defence, which led to opportunities for the players to score.
After Bukayo Saka had tied the match from the penalty spot, City reclaimed the advantage in the second half thanks to a breakaway goal scored by Grealish. Kevin de Bruyne scored the game’s first goal, which was made possible by a poor back pass by Tomiyasu. Meanwhile, Gabriel had possession of the ball taken away from him in a forward position.
But, recent mistakes against Everton and Brentford opened the door for City, and Mikel Arteta’s team crumbled under the pressure. Arsenal started strong and deserved their equaliser, but recent failings against Everton and Brentford opened the door for City.
Arsenal is currently mired in a three-game losing streak, and it would appear that the allegations levelled against Manchester City have inspired an adversary. Despite having played one more game than the other teams, they have a better goal differential and are therefore in the lead in the rankings.
Even after Partey was taken off the field and replaced by Jorginho, Arsenal was able to get out to a great start. The home team had the game’s first clear opportunity, but Nketiah squandered it by heading wide from Oleksandr Zinchenko’s diagonal cross after surviving a scary moment in which Haaland decided to cross rather than shoot from a Riyad Mahrez cross.
This happened after the home team survived a scary moment in which Haaland decided to cross rather than shoot from a Riyad Mahrez cross.
Mikel Arteta after losing against Manchester City:
After the match, Arteta said: “Psychologically there is a marathon still out there. So psychologically [the title] is very far. I said it three months ago and I said it today, it’s about tomorrow. The most important thing is how we are tomorrow and focus on that because the rest of the things, we don’t know what is going to happen”.
“We have to pick [up] the points, because the performances are there for sure. What we’ve done today against this team, believe me that wasn’t the game that they wanted to play”.
What’s Next for Arsenal?
Arsenal will be facing Manchester City at the end of April, which is the time that Pep Guardiola believes is going to be the turning point in the title fight. In an effort to get their season back on track, the Gunners will travel to Villa Park on Saturday at noon to take on the Villains in a game that will be played there.
