Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points after they comprehensively beat top six rivals Arsenal 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s men came into the game off the back of an impressive 4-2 win away to Napoli in the Champions League to cement their place in the last 16. It was also the game that Sergio Aguero broke the record of all-time goals for City as he netted the crucial third goal. Opponents Arsenal were held to a bore draw with Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League as they looked to rest their main players for this weekend’s match.
City opened the scoring in the match through Kevin De Bruyne, after his one-two with Fernandinho opened up space for him to hit a driven shot past Petr Cech. City could, and probably should, have been further ahead if it wasn’t for misplaced final passes and the occasional miss. Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling were particularly guilty of wasting chances in this game, which Pep Guardiola will to improve on before their next game against Leicester in two weeks.
Early in the second half, City were awarded a penalty after Nacho Monreal clumsily bundled into Sterling, which gave Sergio Aguero the pleasure of doubling City’s lead from the spot to get his 179th goal for the club. After that, Arsenal worked themselves back into the game, and were awarded for their efforts when substitute Alexandre Lacazette found the net after the Citizens were split open by the away side’s counter-attack.
Despite their comeback, City killed the game after David Silva’s pass, which should have been flagged for offside, found Gabriel Jesus for an easy tap-in. The home side were the deserving winners of a match that really showed their title credentials.
Here are our player ratings from the match.
Ederson - 7
Despite a couple of errors in the second half, the Brazilian put in another good performance for City and looked solid against a tough-looking Arsenal attack.
Kyle Walker - 8
Was given the task of marking possibly a future team-mate in Alexis Sanchez, and he showed the defensive nous to keep him relatively quiet. He was able to restrict his attacking instincts to help out his fellow defenders at the back.
John Stones - 8
Made some great blocks during that 10-minute period in the second half that was dominated by Arsenal. He solidified the City defence and brought the ball out from the back with such ease. Another class performance from the Englishman.
Nicolas Otamendi - 8
Showed confidence and good commitment in such a big game. He was able to tone down the reckless tackles and put in a composed display. He will be a big miss for the Leicester game in two weeks, after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.
Fabian Delph - 8
Another great performance from Delph, and despite looking a bit vulnerable for Arsenal’s goal, he showed true grit and desire to fight back and solidify his position.
Fernandinho - 8
Was crucial in being part of the one-two that set up De Bruyne’s opening goal and was the lynchpin in City’s midfield ticking. His discipline was also a big part as to why City managed to win the game in a such a composed fashion.
David Silva - 9
After news broke out before the game that David Silva was rejected by Arsenal nine years ago for being “too small” for the Premier League, the Spaniard showed his true quality as he put in a mesmerising display. His touches were superb throughout the match, and was on hand to find Gabriel Jesus for the crucial third goal.
Kevin De Bruyne - 9
Proved to everyone once again why he’s probably one of the best players, on form, in the world at the moment. A fantastic one-two set up his opening goal, which was a beautiful driven shot past Petr Cech. His quality of play continued throughout the match, showing why he’s been defined as a world-class player.
My man of the match.
Raheem Sterling - 7
His final pass was questionable after he overhit what was a simple pass to Leroy Sane in the first half, but was able to make up for it when his pace caused issues for Arsenal’s defence and helped win his side a deserved penalty.
Leroy Sane - 7
His immense pace down the left had Hector Bellerin and the rest of Arsenal’s defence on the back foot, and opened up loads of space for De Bruyne and Silva to exploit and use to City’s advantage.
Sergio Aguero - 7
Caused problems for Arsenal’s defence in the first half, but he sliced a good opportunity wide with his shiny new golden boots. After half time, with a change back to his original black boots, he stepped up to slot home the second goal of the match for City.
Substitutions
Gabriel Jesus (for Aguero 62) – A true goal poacher’s finish for the third goal – 7
Ilkay Gundogan (for Sterling 77) – Controlled the midfield for the final moments of the match – 6