2 February 2025
Arsenal 5 Man City 1
Arsenal welcomed Man City to North London for potentially their biggest game of the season. That has nothing to do with the two sides looking to finish above each other, but The Gunners’ need to keep up with Liverpool at the top of the table. Even Pep Guardiola admitted his side were out of the title race this campaign but Arteta’s side could not afford to drop points.
More spice was added to this game from the reverse fixture and Haaland’s infamous ‘stay humble eh’ comment. As a result, this one was personal for Arsenal. They are still without the influential Saka and must feel that if they can keep the pressure on Liverpool, when he is fully fit, it will be like a new signing for the final push in their league campaign.
Arteta’s side made the perfect start to the game as their high press paid dividends. Stones played a strong pass to Akanji, whose control was poor. It was stolen off him and Havertz squared the ball to Odegaard who swept his side into the lead after only two minutes. The Emirates exploded into a cauldron of noise, the worst possible start for the visitors.
Guardiola’s side almost found a reply when they forced an early corner. It was met by the head of Marmoush and only a stunning reaction save from Raya to claw it out denied them. The resulting parry looped in the air and the ball dropped onto the crossbar, which saved the hosts. Haaland was lurking to bundle it home but the woodwork took it away from him.
Ortega then played a dreadful pass which was intercepted by Rice. His sliding challenge found Havertz in the middle of the goal, with only the keeper to beat. He seemed to take an age to get a shot away but when he did, he dragged it well wide of the target. This is why The Gunners have needed a striker for about four years now.
They went in at the interval, knowing they should be further ahead. While the scoreline was only one-nil, Man City were well and truly in this game. This has been the problem for Arsenal often since the injury to Saka. They struggle to kill games off even when they are the dominant team. The law of averages states that this will come back and haunt you from time to time.
Man City started the second-half in positive mood. Savinho swung a cross into the back post and Haaland had a completely free header as Saliba just watched him. The Norwegian gave Raya no chance as he drew his side level. Gabriel threw his arms around in frustration for the goal they had just conceded, all of their hard work was undone by lack of concentration.
As the visitors looked to play out of defence, Foden played a suicide ball through the middle. It was intercepted by Partey, who opted to let fly from distance. His shot took a huge deflection off Stones and wrong-footed Ortega in the Man City goal. North London was bouncing again as it flew in the far corner to restore The Gunners’ lead.
Arsenal were in the ascendency by this stage and Guardiola’s side just could not cope with them. Rice played the ball into Lewis-Skelly, who checked onto his right foot in the box and bent one into the far corner. It was a superb goal by the youngster as he mimicked Haaland’s celebration in the corner of the pitch.
It was proper shithousery from the youngster but he had certainly introduced himself on the world stage. Looking at the replay, if you wanted to be critical, Ortega should have done better. It was like someone had replaced his hands with poppadoms. Not that the hosts were complaining, they now had a commanding two-goal lead.
Martinelli then burst forward for Arsenal. As he strode towards the box, he thought of shooting himself but laid it off to Havertz. He stroked a left-footed shot into the far corner to put this game beyond doubt. Much like Nunez at Liverpool, at times their finishing is sublime but it happens so infrequently it makes it mind-bending when you see some of their misses.
Man City just looked punch-drunk from this moment onwards. They were in shock with the hiding they were experiencing. Many still point to the absence of Rodri but, as good as he is, there is no way the Spaniard would rectify the wrongs of this team. Something has happened to these players mentally, they no longer believe they are those all-conquering heroes they once were.
If anyone was to score another goal, it looked more likely to be the hosts. Into added time, Nwaneri picked the ball up out wide. With the Man City defenders backing off him, he came forward before clipping a left footed shot into the far corner with Ortega rooted to the spot. It was the icing on the cake for The Gunners fans, this was officially a mauling.
Nobody in The Emirates could have any complaints with the performance their side put in. Such was the buzz around the club after this win, Arsenal managed to not sign a striker in the transfer window again without a single fan batting an eyelid. That win saved the club nearly £100m. Man City stayed in fourth thanks to results elsewhere but Guardiola is a long way off getting this team back on track.
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