The margins were always likely to be tight. In the event, with so much on the line, namely the possible destination of the Premier League title, they were excruciatingly so. It was a day when the division’s heavyweights went toe-to-toe and served up a thriller, a contest to absorb the nation and many more around the world.
When it was over, it was Manchester City who had landed what could prove to be the telling blow. Because once they are ahead on the count in these situations everybody knows how it tends to end. There is no better finisher than Pep Guardiola and the momentum is now firmly with him. A seventh championship in 10 seasons is within his grasp.
The game turned around the hour mark. Mikel Arteta had promised that his Arsenal team would come to play, to fight for the win. No half measures, no parking the bus. They played. It could have turned out differently if Eberechi Eze’s fizzing shot from the edge of the box had been better placed by six inches. Instead it struck the inside of the post, rolled in front of the line and was cleared.
Minutes later, City went up to the other end to score the decisive goal. It was a flowing move, started by Gianluigi Donnarumma and saw Nico O’Reilly swap passes with Jérémy Doku before crossing for Rodri. Arsenal’s defenders were drawn towards the City midfielder and nobody was tight enough to Erling Haaland. Which was a big problem. Haaland swept home and City were on their way to cutting Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to three points. City have a game in hand. They play at Burnley on Wednesday night.
It was not over. Not by a long way. Arsenal will argue the same about the title race and there was hope for them in the performance, if not the result. Gabriel Magalhães would send a deflected header against the post in the 73rd minute and, deep into stoppage time, after a driven cross by the Arsenal substitute Leandro Trossard, there was Kai Havertz, unmarked in front of goal. He headed fractionally too high and City could celebrate.
It was kind of game in which the intrigue was everywhere, very much in keeping with the overall spectacle. There were lashings of event glamour, the little quirks, too; the meme-able content. Such as the guy at the makeshift stall outside the ground selling water or, as he would have it, Arsenal tears. Only £2 a bottle, with the emphasis on bottle. Etc and so on.
It was a blistering start and the opening goal from the City midfielder Rayan Cherki was a celebration of his impishness, the quickness of his feet. Picking up the ball to the right of the Arsenal area, he had plenty to do as he accelerated into it. In a flash he had tricked around Gabriel before swerving the other way before Declan Rice could challenge. The coup de grâce was the beautifully balanced low finish into the far corner. He also supplied a few afters when he stood in front of the Arsenal fans, glaring at them before breaking into a smile.
Arsenal’s response was immediate and what a calamity the equaliser was for Donnarumma. At the start of the game, the Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya had almost been caught with the ball at his feet by a charging Haaland. Raya got away with that one. In a similar situation, Donnarumma did not. Collecting possession to the right of his goal, flush to the byline, his touch was a little heavy and Havertz was on to him. The successful tackle turned into a shot that flew home.
Guardiola had predicted that Arteta would adjust something in terms of his approach and so it proved. The Arsenal manager’s major decision was Havertz in as the No 9, Viktor Gyökeres among the substitutes and the pre-match boost was provided by Martin Ødegaard’s return to fitness and the lineup. It meant Eberechi Eze on the left wing and a greater emphasis on technique; the ability to retain possession. Just to carry the fight in open play.
Cherki hit the inside of a post on four minutes with a shot that deflected off Gabriel; the ball bounced back and across into Raya’s grateful arms. And it was City’s first half – certainly in terms of chances created.
Haaland’s battle with Gabriel was hugely physical, relentlessly so, with the ever-present possibility that it might bubble over in something more. There was the moment when Haaland took off his shirt to show how Gabriel had ripped it and towards the end of the game, when the pair went forehead-to-forehead, Gabriel made an aggressive movement towards Haaland which brought a yellow card. Guardiola wanted a red for a butt. To his credit, Haaland did not go down.
In between times in the first-half, the City striker missed a pass that could have got Antoine Semenyo away. He also snatched at a presentable shooting opportunity. City could also point to the moment when Cherki bamboozled Gabriel with a series of stepovers before going right to Semenyo, whose shot was blocked by Piero Hincapie; a huge defensive intervention.
It was fun watching how Guardiola and Arteta lived it all. Which manager would out-do the other in terms of total immersion and dramatic gestures? It was a close run thing. It looked as though Arteta was about to melt down on 53 minutes when Abdukodir Khusanov, who was the last City defender, got in front of Havertz and the Arsenal player went to ground. Arteta howled for a foul and a red card. There was not enough in it.
City had pressed on to the front upon the restart. Haaland swiped a shot against the outside of the post after a corner while Semenyo took a terrible touch as a one-on-one beckoned with Raya and Doku worked the goalkeeper.
Back came Arsenal. The paucity of their recent attacking performances was forgotten. The adrenaline surged. Eze and Ødegaard worked a fabulous opening for Havertz on the counter only for Donnarumma to deny him with a one-on-one block. Gabriel Martinelli, on as a substitute, could not get in on the rebound. Then Eze, out of very little, dropped his shoulder on the edge of the area and was denied by the upright. So close. Haaland made him and Arsenal pay.
