Arsenal destroy Man City in style as Mikel Arteta’s big call pays off – 5 talking points

Arsenal hit Manchester City with a lethal one-two punch around the hour mark on their way a statement 5-1 victory against their rivals, after Erling Haaland briefly threatened to spoil their party.

Martin Odegaard gave the Gunners a half-time lead, but it looked as though they might be made to pay for failing to turn their dominance into a bigger lead when Erling Haaland found a leveller. Parity didn’t last long, though, with Thomas Partey’s deflected effort instantly restoring the lead.

Two became three not long after for Mikel Arteta’s team, and they had Myles Lewis-Skelly to thank. The left-back drove forward before cutting in from the left and firing past Stefan Ortega, opening his Premier League account in style as the Gunners struck twice in the space of six second-half minutes.

If City thought they had a chance of snatching something late on, those hopes were extinguished 15 minutes from time. Mikel Arteta’s team broke at pace, with Gabriel Martinelli feeding Kai Havertz to put the game out of sight and Ethan Nwaneri putting extra gloss on the scoreline in stoppage-time

It took Arsenal less than two minutes to take the lead. City got into a mix-up at the back to leave Havertz bearing down on the visitors goal, and he rolled the ball across for Martin Odegaard to slot home.

Arsenal thought they had a second with just five minutes on the clock, but Gabriel Martinelli had carelessly strayed offside before touching the ball beyond Stefan Ortega. City slowly began to find their feet, though, and were inches from a leveller only for David Raya to push a Josko Gvardiol header onto the bar.

It could easily have been 2-0 inside half an hour, with Kai Havertz firing wide with the goal at his mercy. As was the case with the first half at the Etihad Stadium in September, this was a far more open game than the two low-scoring affairs these teams played out last season.

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When Haaland equalised, it looked as though the game could turn, only for Arsenal to find themselves 3-1 ahead within seven minutes of the leveller and make even more certain later on. Here are Mirror Football‘s talking points from the Emirates Stadium.

1. Lewis-Skelly justifies Arteta’s big call

When these teams met back in September, Myles Lewis-Skelly’s involvement felt more like a future pub quiz question than anything else. Since then, though, he has become so much more than just ‘the player who got booked before making his debut’.

With 35 minutes on the clock, the defender won the ball and made a lung-busting run from his own half to take the Gunners deep into enemy territory. It took Mikel Arteta’s team from soaking up pressure to pinning their opponents back, and the value of the run was plain to see even if it didn’t lead to a clear-cut chance.

Riccardo Calafiori has impressed since his summer move, so it is telling that Lewis-Skelly was preferred to him on Sunday. The teenager showed his worth once more in the second half, showing a calm head to play his part as the Gunners repeatedly played their way out of trouble,

Calafiori has shown more of a goal threat, but Lewis-Skelly showed he can do that too. The reverse fixture might have been his Premier League debut, but tis was a real coming-of-age encounter.

2. City slow starters again

There were less than five minutes on the clock when City gifted Chelsea an opener last weekend, and history repeated itself in North London. Some might have forgiven Abdukodir Khusanov for his debut nerves, but the experienced Manuel Akanji surely should have been able to do more.

The lack of communication between the Swiss international and his team-mates was the sort of thing a team of City’s calibre should find it easy to avoid. Instead, they essentially gave their opponents a head-start.

Against Chelsea, they benefited from a helping hand to turn a deficit into a lead. There was no such luck this time, despite that minute when it looked as though they might find a way back in.

3. Havertz gets the goal he needs

Kai Havertz could easily have tucked the ball home himself rather than feeding Odegaard for his early goal, and commentator Gary Neville hinted at a lack of confidence from the German. There was certainly nothing assured about his finishing 25 minutes in, when a second piece of lax defending from the visitors presented him with a golden chance, but he fired wide as Ortega scrambled back.

In Havertz’s first Arsenal season, he needed a penalty in his seventh Premier League appearance to open his account but ended the season with 13 in the competition. It might be time to accept he’s a streaky player as far as goals are concerned, but finding him the goal to start the next streak looked like being a matter of urgency.

Luckily for him, that wait lasted less than an hour. His finish for Arsenal’s fourth goal was an assured one, and the German will hope it kick-starts another fine run.

4. Haaland and Gabriel at it again

Erling Haaland isn’t a player who needs many touches, but he was kept particularly quiet at the Emirates Stadium. During the first half, the Norwegian went more than half an hour without touching the ball.

Part of that can be put down to Gabriel, the man tasked with keeping him under wraps. The pair clashed early on, but plenty of action after that saw City forced to work in other parts of the pitch.

None of that seemed to matter 10 minutes into the second half, though. It was William Saliba who he beat to the ball, though, getting goal-side of the Frenchman to head beyond David Raya and bring his team level.

It looked like that goal could be an important one, but not for long. In the end, Gabriel will be by far the happier of the two rivals.

5. Timing is everything

Had City been allowed to settle after their equaliser, nerves might have started to set in. As it is, we’ll never know what might have happened in that scenario.

In a title race, teams need a stroke of fortune from time to time. In this case, it was the huge deflection off the back of John Stones which sent Partey’s speculative shot into the City net.

Arsenal were punished for missed chances when Haaland headed home, but they weren’t going to let it happen again. They know they need to be near-perfect to stand any chance of winning the league, and – whatever happens between now and May – this was a sign of the mentality they need.

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