Football: Man City go top with 3-1 statement win at Arsenal
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Manchester City's Erling Haaland (right) celebrates after scoring his team's third goal.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON - Written off at times during an unusually erratic season, Manchester City are back on top of the Premier League after their 3-1 victory at Arsenal on Wednesday, but manager Pep Guardiola refused to be carried away.
The reigning champions produced a commanding second-half display at the Emirates to record an 11th successive league win over the Gunners and leapfrog them on goal difference.
Both sides have 51 points but Arsenal, chasing a first title since 2004, have a game in hand.
The win will make City favourites to claim a fifth title in six seasons under Guardiola, but the Spaniard said the race still had a long way to run.
“They have played one game less, so I consider they are top of the league,” Guardiola insisted.
“There are still many games to play, the Champions League is coming and the Europa League is coming. Many, many difficulties for everyone.
“But what is important is the fact that we could have come here maybe about eight or nine points behind. Losing here, it would have been almost over.
“But now because of the fact they dropped points (in their previous two games), we came here for the chance to be close, we won the game, we are there. If you want the crown, fight for it. We still want it.”
City still have to play Arsenal at home at the end of April, which is when Guardiola believes the race will come to the boil.
“This league will be decided in the last eight or 10 games. There are 15 to go. Many games and tiring for the players,” he said.
The 52-year-old is not getting ahead of himself but, as his players celebrated in front of their travelling fans at the final whistle, his face was wreathed in smiles and perhaps tinged with a little relief.
Just a few minutes earlier, he had been punching the air in delight as second-half goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland lifted City back to the top of the table.
Kevin de Bruyne had given City the lead and even Bukayo Saka’s penalty equaliser was not enough to shake the champions’ equilibrium once they rode Arsenal’s first-half storm on a rainy night in north London.
Having trailed Arsenal by eight points just a month ago, City are now firmly in contention to retain the title, despite Guardiola brushing it off.
The City boss has been waiting for this moment as he searched for concrete proof his men still had the hunger required to be crowned champions.
Defeats at Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as a home loss to Brentford and a League Cup exit at Southampton, had given the impression that all was not well at City.
Guardiola’s curious tactics and his unexpected decision to allow Joao Cancelo to join Bayern Munich on loan in January further added to the sense of a team drifting at a time when Arsenal were revitalised under his former assistant Mikel Arteta.
Even Haaland’s barrage of goals came with the caveat that the striker’s style of play might not be best suited to Guardiola’s philosophy.
But as the critics sharpened their knives, the manager saw signs in training ahead of their seismic showdown at Arsenal that his squad were about to make their point to the doubters.
“When we were second in the table, we had the feeling we needed a little more. This week, the mood in training, the concentration, the focus were there,” Guardiola said.
Jack Grealish of Manchester City scores his team’s second goal e
EPA-EFE
Arsenal boss Arteta, meanwhile, was left to rue individual errors that contributed to the defeat.
Takehiro Tomiyasu’s poor back pass allowed de Bruyne to put City ahead and an error by Gabriel enabled Guardiola’s men to regain the lead through Grealish before Haaland’s 26th league goal of the season sealed the points.
“It was an incredible battle between two teams and, when we had them, we gave them the goals. On the other hand, we had three big chances and we did not put them away,” he said.
Asked about the title race, he added: “Psychologically, there is a marathon still out there.
“I said it three months ago and I said it today, it’s about tomorrow. The most important thing is how we are tomorrow and focus on that because, the rest of the things, we don’t know what is going to happen.” REUTERS, AFP
