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After a recent uplift in their results, the pain returned for Manchester City in the Premier League. City conceded a goal inside two minutes and was overwhelmed in the second half in a 5-1 loss at Arsenal, which trimmed the gap to leader Liverpool to six points on Sunday.
The chances of City winning a fifth straight Premier League title are surely over — the champions are 15 points behind Liverpool with 14 matches remaining — and they must have felt humiliated by the end of the game at Emirates that again demonstrated the new-found hostility between Arsenal and City.
City arrived having won six of its last eight games in all competitions but all is still not right with Pep Guardiola’s team, who let in a sloppy opener when Manuel Akanji was dispossessed near his own area and Martin Odegaard scored.
Haaland goaded
Haaland was goaded after that goal by Gabriel in a hangover from the spiky 2-2 draw between the teams in September but responded by equalizing in the 55th. Arsenal went back in front in the 57th through Thomas Partey’s deflected shot and there were further goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri as City fell apart in a similar fashion to the 4-2 loss at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last month. “How we played in the last 30 minutes is not acceptable. It’s not us,” City defender John Stones said. “I’m angry, upset.”
The zen celebration
Arsenal reveled in the win. Lewis-Skelly, an 18-year-old defender, marked his goal by sitting down, crossing his legs and delivering a “Zen” celebration — one often used by Haaland. And when the final whistle sounded, the home team played Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” loudly around the stadium — surely a nod to Haaland telling Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to “stay humble” after the 2-2 draw in September. “This is a thing that’s been building up over a certain amount of time,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said. “With the Etihad at the start of the season and everything that went on there, you do have that fire in your stomach.” Arsenal were alone in second place, three points above Nottingham Forest and nine above fourth-placed City.
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