Manchester City vs Arsenal review

Man City 3-1 Arsenal

A win against Arsenal at the Etihad meant Manchester City reduced the gap at the top of the Premier League to two points, for at least 24 hours, thanks to a Sergio Aguero hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Arsenal.

The reigning Premier League Champions took the lead after 48 seconds through an Aguero header. Alex Iwobi was casual in possession inside his own area, as City managed to score with all 11 Arsenal players in their own box. Fill in left-back Aymeric Laporte put in a great cross for Aguero to head home. Many thought Arsenal would crumble, but they were soon level as Laurent Koscielny scored a header of his own from a corner, after a cute knock on by Nacho Monreal.

With halftime looming, Arsenal hoped to go into the break level, but City scored late in the half, as Aguero simply finished off from Raheem Sterling's fine assist. A poor second half defensive showing meant City dominated, and the Argentine completed his hat-trick and killed off the game after the hour. The ball appeared to strike the arm of the striker before trickling into the net, again enabling fans calling for the implementation of VAR.

The result means pressure is back on Liverpool to regain their five-point lead against West Ham on Monday, while this weekend’s results mean Arsenal drop down to sixth, three points off the top four.

Arsenal impressed in the first half, and there can be little criticism of the first half of their performance. It may have been a different game if Arsenal could have managed to hold on late in the first half. Stephen Lichtsteiner has come in for a lot of criticism, and it is certainly deserved, the Swiss right-back had a torrid time against the pace of Leroy Sane, and had to take the blame for his parts in all goals he conceded. 

Arsenal have won two out of their last 4 games, and have been knocked out of the FA Cup, with all trophy hopes resting on the Europa League. The Gunner's form hasn't been great, and they certainly need to start performing better if they want to mount a challenge for the top 4, but with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rejuvenating Manchester United, who now lead Arsenal in the table, the pressure really is on, and qualification through the top 4 now looks unlikely, Arsenal fans calls for a defender to be signed in January weren't listed too, and the need for a centre back remains prevalent. The injury to Hector Bellerin in the game against Chelsea ended his season, and Lichsteiner certainly isn't up to first team standards, Arsenal will hope Ainsley Maitland Niles can recover from injury as soon as possible.