Man City 4-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as De Bruyne inspires thumping City win
Manchester City took a huge step towards a third consecutive Premier League with a 4-1 win over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Gunners still lead the table, but the gap is now just two points and City will surge ahead if they win their two games in hand.
Two excellent goals from Kevin De Bruyne either side of a John Stones header in first half stoppage-time made it comfortable for City in their 12th straight league win over Arsenal. Rob Holding did score a thumping consolation but it mattered little, as Erling Haaland made it four in stoppage time.
It was a slightly nervous start from Arsenal, not helped when a poor Aaron Ramsdale parry into the danger area saw Thomas Partey tangle legs with De Bruyne – to the relief of those in red, referee Michael Oliver adjudged De Bruyne to have kicked the Arsenal man and not the other way around.
But City showed just how clinical they can be not long afterwards when a long pass from back to front beat the Arsenal press. Haaland held it up superbly and played in De Bruyne, whose surprising turn of pace and curved finish was worthy of a game of this magnitude.
Bernardo Silva lacked power to potentially double City’s lead inside 20 minutes, while it took the Gunners until midway through the first half to have their first meaningful spell. But soon the Haaland-De Bruyne combo in the centre circle again put the latter in on goal – this time, a last ditch-block tackle from Ben White kept Arsenal in it.
Moments later, it was De Bruyne to Haaland and only a fine save from Ramsdale stopped it. The Norwegian had another shot beaten away by Ramsdale, while another effort flew agonisingly the wrong side of the post as he charged into far too much space from an Arsenal perspective.
By half-time, Arsenal could have been trailing by three or four goals were it not for Ramsdale. He made another save from Haaland before the break and had the presence of mind to hook the ball away from Ilkay Gundogan, who was hunting the rebound.
OH Kevin De Bruyne! 🎯
A great takedown from Erling Haaland who passes to De Bruyne for a stunning run and finish! 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/Ex4pyouHVJ
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 26, 2023
But Ramsdale was helpless when Stones was part a back-post overload at a deep De Bruyne free-kick, powering a head across goal and into the net. An offside flag initially ruled it out, but VAR confirmed the City defender was being played onside by Ben White.
Arsenal made a brighter start to the second half and a speculative Granit Xhaka shot gave Ederson his first real job of the evening, but it was still a comfortable save. It didn’t take long for City to re-assert their control as Haaland capitalised on a mistake from Gabriel and was again denied by Ramsdale.
That was a warning sign because when Martin Odegaard lost the ball to Haaland in Arsenal’s half, the City striker fed De Bruyne, who gave Ramsdale no chance.
Having gone 3-0 up, City fully took the sting out of the game. They continued to dominate the ball and were toying with Arsenal – it was clear to see the frustrations rising for the visitors.
Probably sensing the game was gone, Mikel Arteta made a number of substitutions to change things up, perhaps with one eye also on what is to come. Those changes actually did make a positive impact and it was the movement of Leandro Trossard in particular that gave Holding the late consolation. By that stage, City had arguably all but shut down into auto pilot.
City still ensured it would be a three-goal winning margin in the end as Haaland swept in at the death to finally get his goal – a 49th of the season in all competitions – pouncing on a deflected pass from substitute Phil Foden after more questionable Arsenal defending.
GK: Ederson – 6/10 – Mostly a spectator.
RB: Kyle Walker – 7/10 – Never gave Arsenal a sniff.
CB: John Stones – 8/10 – Provided the raking long ball that made the first goal possible, before scoring the second himself with a bullet header.
CB: Ruben Dias – 6/10 – Solid defensively, but got involved in a fracas with White that got him booked.
LB: Manuel Akanji – 7/10 – Ensured Saka wasn’t a threat.
CM: Rodri – 8/10 – Protected the back four in precisely the way Arsenal didn’t have.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan (c) – 7/10 – Always looking for the ball and led by example.
RM: Bernardo Silva – 6/10 – Might have thought he could have done better with a first half chance.
AM: Kevin De Bruyne – 9/10 – Scored a marvellous breakthrough goal early on and linked up so well with Haaland in open play, taking up a high position close to the striker.
LM: Jack Grealish – 7/10 – No dereliction of defensive duties.
ST: Erling Haaland – 9/10 – Arsenal struggled to even get near him. Had plenty of chances, but also showed he can be more than just a goalscorer by getting involved in good build up play.
Substitutes
SUB: Riyad Mahrez (72′ for Gundogan) – 6/10
SUB: Julian Alvarez (80′ for De Bruyne) – 6/10
SUB: Phil Foden (87′ for Grealish) – N/A
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 8/10 – Perfect gameplan overall.
GK: Aaron Ramsdale – 8/10 – This would have been utterly embarrassing without him.
RB: Ben White – 4/10 – Made a big first half tackle just to keep it at 1-0, but was later culpable for the second by dropping too deep and playing Stones onside.
CB: Rob Holding – 4/10 – Bullied by Haaland. In his defence, he had so little protection, but he stood off and made it too easy for De Bruyne to make it 3-0. Took his goal well, at least.
CB: Gabriel – 3/10 – Left for dead by De Bruyne, a player not exactly known for pace, when the Belgian put City ahead. Poor all-round.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 5/10 – Among Arsenal’s better players.
CM: Matin Odegaard (c) – 4/10 – Spent far too much time on the periphery of the game and ended up losing possession in a bad area for City’s third goal. Not able to pick his team up as captain.
CM: Thomas Partey – 5/10 – Too often left on an island as the sole holding midfielder.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 4/10 – His biggest contribution was getting involved in pushing and shoving. Taken off early, perhaps to save him from himself.
RW: Bukayo Saka – 3/10 – Might as well have not been on the pitch.
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 4/10 – Starved of service to do anything worthwhile.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – 3/10 – Just barely got into double figures for touches of the ball.
Substitutes
SUB: Leandro Trossard (60′ for Martinelli) – 7/10
SUB: Jorginho (60′ for Xhaka) – 6/10
SUB: Emile Smith Rowe (72′ for Odegaard) – 5/10
SUB: Reiss Nelson (80′ for Saka) – 6/10
SUB: Eddie Nketiah (80′ for Jesus) – 6/10
Manager
Mikel Arteta – 5/10 – The boss is watching the season crumble in front of his eyes, but at least the substitutes made a little bit of a difference.