Arsenal thrash football champions Man City at the Emirates to close the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool to six points.
Arsenal kept their Premier League title challenge alive with a 5-1 demolition of dismal Manchester City as the troubled champions endured another humiliation in a miserable season.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal had no margin for error in the title race after leaders Liverpool won 2-0 at Bournemouth on Saturday to move nine points clear of the Gunners.
They rose to the occasion on Sunday with a blistering performance inspired by captain Martin Odegaard’s opener after 103 seconds at the Emirates Stadium.
Erling Haaland hauled City level soon after half-time with his 25th goal in all competitions this season.
But the careless mistakes that have hampered City throughout a dismal campaign proved decisive when Thomas Partey capitalised on Phil Foden’s poor pass to restore Arsenal’s lead.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s first Arsenal goal and late strikes from Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri put the seal on a masterful display as the Gunners moved to within six points of Liverpool.
Liverpool’s game in hand keeps them firmly in control of the title race, but Arsenal’s vibrant performance extended their unbeaten run to 14 games and underlined their desire to push the Reds to the finish line.
Arsenal have 50 points from 24 games with leaders Liverpool on 56 from 23. Manchester City are a distant fourth with 41.
City have now failed to win any of their last four league meetings with Arsenal as their six-game undefeated run in the top flight came to a brutal end.
With a fifth successive title long erased from City’s ambitions after their wretched season, manager Pep Guardiola’s fourth-placed side are focused on qualifying for the Champions League.
But even that could be beyond them – let alone getting past Real Madrid in this season’s playoff round – unless Guardiola can fix the gaping holes in his defence and the lack of energy in midfield.
“Was a top game and a top performance,” Odegaard said. “With the fans and the atmosphere and the scoresheet like that, it can’t be better.
“It was about time I scored and it was good after as we didn’t stop – we kept on going. We got what we deserved. It was a good one.”
City defender John Stones lamented the poor performance and apologised to the travelling fans.
“How we played in the last 30 minutes was not acceptable. Personally and collectively, it’s not us,” he said, while also giving credit to Arsenal.
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