Premier League: Arsenal vs Manchester City 1-3 Report

After brace at Arsenal in the second half, City remain at the top of the Premier League

The champions overcame their rivals as Manchester City beat Arsenal 3-1 to overcome the Gunners to top the Premier League table.

Defensive mistakes plagued Mikel Arteta’s side against his former employer, which rendered Bukayo Saka’s penalty irrelevant as goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Braut Haaland handed the Gunners their first home defeat of the season.

Contrasting injury news emerged at both camps an hour before kick-off, with Thomas Partey missing for the hosts but Haaland likely to start for the visitors.

A finish worthy of the increasingly prolific Norwegian would have opened the scoring in the 24th minute, although De Bruyne, rather than Haaland, was the lucky recipient of Takehiro Tomiyasu’s misplaced pass.

Under pressure from Grealish, Tomiyasu tried to play the ball back to Aaron Ramsdale, but his poor pass created a good chance for De Bruyne, whose exuberant opening shot sailed over Ramsdale before nestling into the net from behind.

As ever, Arsenal’s reaction to a goal deficit was consistently positive, with Tomiyasu trying to equalize with a close-range volley in the 28th minute, but he just sent his on-side kick over the crossbar.

The Citizens’ early loss of time would also cut some points for the hosts, with Ederson picking up a yellow card in the 36th minute, while makeshift left-back Bernardo Silva also picked up a yellow card after three tackles on Saka.

As Arsenal’s pressure continued to mount, Nathan Ake was forced into a heroic goal-line clearance after an Eddie Nketiah strike, only for Anthony Taylor to aim straight for the penalty after the striker had been brought down by Ederson.

Despite fierce protests from City, the penalty came and Saka coolly dispatched Ederson in the 42nd minute to level the issue on merits.

However, Woodwork came to the Gunners’ rescue six minutes into the first half’s extra time when Rodri’s header bounced off Ake’s shin and landed on the crossbar just before half-time.

VAR wasn’t Arsenal’s best friend against Brentford but it certainly helped early in the second half when a tangle between Gabriel Magalhães and Haaland resulted in a penalty in the 56th minute.

However, to the delight of the Arsenal supporters, Haaland was just offside and their hearts were in their mouths as Ramsdale curled the ball into the danger area before Jorginho – admirably replacing Partey – cleared his shot past Manuel Akanji on the line.

Threats abounded as Arteta’s men also ventured forward, but the daze came in the 72nd minute when a great move by City ended with Grealish’s try accepting an easy wave from a Tomiyasu slide and beating Ramsdale.

Any fading hopes of an Arsenal comeback were all but dashed in the 82nd minute when another thrilling City run ended with De Bruyne setting up Haaland after a draw to score his 26th Premier League goal of the season into the far corner.

The Emirates stands soon began to empty but those still in attendance saw Nketiah miss another header from Saka’s cross in the 89th minute and there was no major comeback in the five minutes of added time that followed.

City have now moved past Arsenal – who have a game in hand – ahead of a trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday on goal difference, as the Gunners visit Aston Villa at midday kick-off.

Lineups:

Ramsdale, Tomiyasu (White 83), Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Xhaka (Vieira 83), Odegaard , Saka, Martinelli (Trossard 76), Nketiah

Subs not used: Turner, Tierney, Kiwior, Holding, Nelson, Cozier-Duberry

Manchester City: 

Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, De Bruyne (Phillips 87), Gundogan, Bernardo, Mahrez (Akanji 61), Grealish (Foden 77), Haaland

Subs not used: Ortega Moreno, Laporte, Alvarez, Gomez, Palmer, Lewis

Scorers:

Bookings:

Man of the Match : Kevin De Bruyne