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Manchester City marked their first Premier League game after the coronavirus lockdown with a 3-0 victory over a lacklustre Arsenal side on Wednesday night.
Within minutes of the game at the Etihad, it became clear that the hosts would be the dominating side as they consistently created big chances in the Gunners' 18-yard-box. While the visitors stood strongly against the onslaught for half of the match, their defence soon came crashing down.
Only a minute into first-half stoppage time, Manchester City wing-forward Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for the Cityzens rather unexpectedly. A poor curling pass from Kevin de Bruyne from the right flank was intercepted very poorly by David Luiz. The experienced defender took a bad first touch, only to lay it on for Sterling who struck the ball into the net from a tight angle.
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Three minutes into the second half, it was Luiz who once again gifted the Manchester giants their second goal of the game. Riyad Mahrez surged into the box from the right wing, beating Luiz with his pace. The controversial Brazilian then held on to Mahrez's shoulder and dragged him down in the box. Kevin de Bruyne was on hand to convert the penalty, while Luiz was shown the red card and sent off the pitch.
The rest of the second half saw Arsenal struggling to survive with one man down and they barely had any significant opportunity through the remainder of the game. Unfortunately for them, during one of Manchester City's charging runs forward late on, Sergio Aguero received a great ball inside the box and took his chance at goal only to hit the bar. It was Phil Foden who then pounced on the ball and shot it into the top of the goal to take his side's tally to three.
With these results, Manchester City consolidated their runner-up place in the Premier League standings as they now sit 22 points behind leaders Liverpool. Arsenal, on the other hand, might drop to a position lower than their current 9th spot once the remaining games of this match-week are played.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five key observations from the game.
#5 The Arsenal-David Luiz partnership isn't working
David Luiz has made quite a few mistakes in an Arsenal shirt but this has got to be one of his worst performances since joining the club last summer. The Brazilian centre-back singlehandedly handed Manchester City the reins to a game that might have gone either way.
The 33-year-old defender misjudged the movement of the ball and assisted Raheem Sterling with the first goal. He then let his emotions get in the way and brought down Riyad Mahrez in the box just minutes into the second half. Causing two errors that led to goals and picking up a red card are mistakes that are near unforgivable, especially when Arsenal are already struggling to enter the top four.
#4 Bernd Leno is a shining light for the Gunners
Although Bernd Leno conceded three goals at the Etihad, there wasn't really much he could have done to stop them. Arsenal's rattled defence, on the other hand, was so structurally poor that Manchester City would have scored another four goals without the German goalkeeper's intervention.
The hosts displayed just how clinical they are by tallying a solid 12 shots on target. Leno clearly had a lot of work to do and tried his best to stop the shots from hitting the net. The 28-year-old made an amazing nine saves in the game, proving that he is a player the Gunners can trust to hold down the last line of defence.
#3 Manchester City are in great form
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have enjoyed immense success during their time together and their season could still end on a high note if they continue to perform the way they did against Arsenal on Wednesday night.
They might not be able to defend their Premier League title against Liverpool but there are still other trophies to fight for. The Cityzens are currently in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup and could get into the Champions League quarterfinals.
Manchester City were in charge of the proceedings against Arsenal, picking up the bulk of possession (68%), a passing accuracy of 93% as well as 20 shots at goal. Defensively, they showcased no weaknesses as they shut down every opposing attack efficiently and decisively.
#2 Arsenal's attacking force was unable to achieve anything
Should Mikel Arteta have played Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the starting striker? Probably. The pacey attacker was unable to do anything noteworthy behind Eddie Nketiah and only managed two shots at goal that were off the mark.
Bukayo Saka also played behind Nketiah and struggled to be productive as his otherwise-accurate passing barely created an opportunity.
Arteta tried to infuse some pace and strength into his attacking line by bringing on Alexandre Lacazette with 30 minutes to spare. However, the damage had already been done by then and the Frenchman barely made 10 touches on the ball.
The former Manchester City assistant manager will have to revisit the drawing board and pick out more effective attacking strategies if he wants to help his side go further up the standings this season.
#1 Raheem Sterling ran the show and deserved an assist
Raheem Sterling entered Wednesday's game with no goals to his name this calendar year but came out of it with an incisive goal to shut down all his critics.
The Manchester City winger was all shades of perfect as he played a more supporting role in the game. His presence was felt across the pitch as he surged into the box frequently and moved from flank to flank to find spaces. He also constantly kept his eyes out for a pass rather than a shot.
It's too bad that the pacey Englishman did not get an assist for all his efforts but he will certainly be glad to have ended his goal drought this year.
