With the victory, the team led by Pep Guardiola reduces the gap to three points, with one game in hand
O Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-1 this Sunday (19) and shortened the gap to the Premier League leaders. O Erling Haaland scored in the second half he sealed the victory that could have been decisive in the title dispute.
With the result, Pep Guardiola’s team is now just three points from Arsenalcom one less gameand arrives packed for the final stretch of the competition. Arsenal is going through a delicate moment: since the defeat in the League Cup final to City, Mikel Arteta’s team has only won once in six gameswith four consecutive defeats in English football.
A victory against Burnley, on Wednesday (22), could put City in first place in the table for the first time in 2026.
After three consecutive runners-upArsenal are in serious danger of wasting yet another opportunity to win the English title after 22 years. In addition to their rival’s superiority in attack, the Gunners were unlucky: they hit the post on two occasions.
Rayan Cherki opened the scoring for City with a fine individual goal, dribbling past Gabriel and Declan Rice before finishing into the corner. Arsenal equalized shortly after, taking advantage of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s serious mistake: the goalkeeper hesitated when the ball was released, Kai Havertz intercepted it and sent it into the back of the net.
In the second half, City regained control. Haaland, in the 25th minute, beat Gabriel after a cross from Nico O’Reilly and finished with precision, scoring his 34th goal of the season and guaranteeing the victory.
Arsenal still created good chances. Donnarumma made a great save in a one-on-one with Havertz, and the team hit the post in two other moments — the most painful with Eberechi Eze, whose ball ran across the goal line without going in. In stoppage time, Havertz missed the chance to equalize with his head.
Gabriel escaped expulsion after trying to headbutt Haaland and only received a yellow card. In the end, Arteta fell to the pitch, visibly dejected.
With five rounds to go, Arsenal still has, on paper, a more accessible calendar. In practice, however, the team seems to have lost steam exactly when the pressure became greater. It is now up to Arteta to lift the group’s morale to avoid another collapse in the decisive stretch of the season.
*With information from AFP
