Haaland submits, De Bruyne concludes: Manchester City dismantles title rival Arsenal

Manchester City have paved the way to defending their title. In the 4-1 win against Arsenal, who are still leaders, the “Citizens” burned off a football firework and now only need two points from two catch-up games to outperform the Londoners.

The outstanding player was Kevin De Bruyne, who converted a pass from Erling Haaland in the seventh minute to make it 1-0. Haaland as a preparer, that worked better in the top game: The Norwegian striker missed three big chances (28th, 36th, 41st) for the second city goal before the break.

Premier League: Manchester City show of force against Arsenal

That was achieved by John Stones (45+1), who headed in a De Bruyne free-kick. 2-0 at the break – a show of power by the champions against harmless capital city dwellers who only had a long-range shot from Thomas Partey (35th). As great as Mikel Arteta has developed at Arsenal in recent months, he was clearly at a disadvantage in the top duel against his former boss Pep Guardiola.

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After the change, Haaland (53′) forgave again, but then made it 3-0 for De Bruyne (54′), who managed everything. Rob Holding (86′) scored for Arsenal to make it 3-1, before Haaland (90′ + 5) made it onto the top scorer list shortly before the end. Manchester City dreams of the treble.