“He took the match personal against us, I was very lucky not to be sent off for my fouls on him, but I’ll take my revenge when we meet again” Man city midfielder Bernardo Silva laments about ONE Arsenal star who really ‘stood up’ Vs City and gave them a run for their money – Not Trossard and Not Rice.
Arsenal secured a dominant 5-1 win over Manchester City on Sunday evening as they kept themselves in the race for the Premier League title.
Mikel Arteta put out a strong side for the visit of the Cityzens, bringing the likes of Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli back into the team. After initial injury concerns, David Raya returned between the sticks for the Gunners.
It was a fast start for the hosts when Leandro Trossard pounced on a mistake by the City defence for Kai Havertz to set Martin Odegaard up. The skipper fired home to give his side an early lead. Gabriel Martinelli thought he had doubled the Gunners’ advantage minutes later but the flag went up for offside.
The returning Raya was called into action when he made a stunning save to deny Josko Gvardiol an equaliser from an Omar Marmoush corner. City hit back after the break however, when Erling Haaland rose above William Saliba to head in an equaliser.
Arsenal didn’t take long to regain their lead when 38 seconds after the leveller, another City mistake allowed for Thomas Partey to strike a deflected effort in from long range. The Gunners onslaught did not stop there as they extended their lead through Myles Lewis-Skelly. The youngster picked up the ball before cutting inside and firing an effort past Stefan Ortega.
15 minutes from time, a quick break ended in Arsenal grabbing their fourth. Martinelli played Havertz in, who set himself before curling a fine effort into the corner.
Substitute Ethan Nwaneri put the cap on a brilliant display in stoppage time witha superb curled shot past Ortega.
The victory sees the Gunners remain in second, six points behind Liverpool. While the Reds look like they may be running away with the league title, Arsenal’s statement win over City has shown they are not giving up the fight just yet.
Here are the Arsenal player ratings from their outstanding 5-1 win over Manchester City.
Arsenal 5-1 Man City player ratings
Goalkeeper & Defenders
David Raya (GK) -7/10- Made a brilliant save to deny Gvardiol a certain equaliser. Not much he could do about Haaland’s leveller but an all-round good performance from the Spaniard.
Jurrien Timber (RB)-7/10 – Did his job well and helped keep the City threat down the left side to a minimum. Got forward and assisted in attack, doing so well. Picked up a yellow card late on for a foul on Savinho.
William Saliba (CB) -7.5/10 – Was outjumped by Haaland for the visitors’ equaliser but that was the only time he failed to come out on top against him. Did really well to keep City’s attack quiet throughout.
Gabriel Magalhaes (CB) – 7.5/10 – Made sure to make his presence known to Haaland after the opening goal and continued to be a tough force to beat for the City frontline. All that was missing was another header from a corner but oh well!
Myles Lewis-Skelly (LB) – 8.5/10 – Certainly rose to the occasion as he limited Foden and Nunes to doing essentially nothing all game. Scored his first goal at senior level with a great effort and made it all that bit sweeter by copying a certain striker’s celebration.
Martin Odegaard (CM) – 7/10 – Opened the scoring for his side with a good finish early on. Helped out his side in attack but didn’t offer too much as the game went on. Thomas Partey (CM) – 8.5/10 – Really dominant
performance in the midfield from the Ghanaian.
Contributed in defence but also split City open with some good passes. Restored the Gunners’ lead with a deflected strike from range.
Declan Rice (CM) – 8.5/10 – Did not let up, especially in the first half, as he put plenty of pressure on the City defence. Set up two goals and also contributed to the opener. Gabriel Martinelli (RW) – 7/10- Never gave up on the right side as he kept causing problems for the City defence. Denied by the offside flag in the first half before assisting Havertz in the second.
Kai Havertz (ST) – 7/10 – Set up Odegaard’s opener before missing a great chance to make it 2-0 in the first half. Made up for it after the break with a well-taken effort. Caused some problems but not the most threatening showing.
Leandro Trossard (LW) – 7/10 – Caused plenty of trouble on the left flank. Won back possession with some good pressing for his side’s first goal.
