Arsenal crush Man City to stay in title hunt

Agency :

Arsenal delivered a statement of intent in the Premier League (PL) title race with a 5-1 hammering of champions Manchester City to close the gap at the top to six points on Sunday.

Captain Martin Odegaard fired Arsenal into a second-minute lead and City were finished off in ruthless fashion after the break with teenagers Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri both on target for the rampant Gunners.

Erling Haaland’s 55th-minute equaliser, his 250th senior career goal, had briefly raised City’s hopes, but they could have no complaints as any lingering chance of winning a fifth successive title surely disappeared into the north London night.

Arsenal are now 14 games unbeaten in the league and have 50 points from 24 games with leaders Liverpool on 56 from 23.

Manchester City are a distant fourth with 41.

Arsenal have been accused of being over-reliant on set-piece goals this season but on Sunday they played with fluency and flare to rack up their biggest home win of the league season.

“It was a top game, a top performance and with the fans and the atmosphere it can’t be better, so very happy,” Odegaard said. “In the end, I think we got what we deserved.”

City, whose six-game unbeaten run in the league had suggested they were returning to form, were generally second-best apart from a lively spell before halftime when Arsenal keeper David Raya was forced into a couple of crucial saves.

“It is difficult. I think all of us don’t take losing well,” City defender John Stones said. “It is hard to put into words straight after a game like that.

“How we played in the last 30 minutes was not acceptable.”

Sloppy City gifted Arsenal the lead when Manuel Akanji was put in trouble by teammate John Stones and was dispossessed before Kai Havertz calmly set up Odegaard to sweep home from close range despite an attempted block by Stones.

With City at sixes and sevens, Arsenal thought they had made it 2-0 shortly afterwards when Gabriel Martinelli lifted a shot past Stefan Ortega but was adjudged to be offside.