"A magnificent performance" - Alan Shearer names 2 Arsenal stars who were 'bullied' by Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland 

Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has slammed Arsenal duo Rob Holding and Gabriel Magalhaes for being bullied by Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.

The Gunners suffered a 4-1 defeat at the Etihad on Wednesday (26 April) night that saw City move to within two points of the league leaders. Pep Guardiola's side also have two games in hand on the north Londoners.

De Bruyne and Haaland were superb with their partnership wreaking havoc on Arsenal's defense. The Belgian midfielder grabbed two goals and an assist while Haaland raked in one goal and two assists.

Shearer reacted to City's comfortable victory by claiming that De Bruyne and Haaland bullied Holding and Gabriel. He said on Match of the Day:

"They [De Bruyne and Haaland] were unplayable tonight, they bullied the two centre-halves Gabriel and Rob Holding."

Holding won just two of five ground duels and one of three aerial duels. Haaland easily shrugged off the English defender for City's opener, with the Norweigan then playing De Bruyne in on goal. Meanwhile, Gabriel didn't manage a single tackle all game and was dribbled past on one occasion. The Brazilian couldn't keep up with City's frenetic frontline.

Shearer added:

"It was a magnificent performance from start to finish from Man City, they totally dominated in every position. Some of the play tonight was absolutely magnificent."

Arsenal headed into the encounter with the Cityzens without William Saliba. The Frenchman has been vital for the league leaders this season but is sidelined with a back injury. Hence, some Gunners fans will argue that Arteta was without his preferred defensive duo in Saliba and Gabriel.

---

Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale urges his side to be ready for a potential Manchester City collapse

Aaron Ramsdale isn't giving up the title race.

Arsenal have stumbled in the Premier League title race. They are without a win in their last four league outings. Meanwhile, City have been in phenomenal form, unbeaten in their last 17 games across competitions. The title seems to be heading in only one direction and that is back to the Etihad.

However, Gunners goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has urged his side to be ready in case the Cityzens to slip up. He told Arsenal's official website:

“If something is going to happen, it’s going to be in our league, so, we’ve got to be there to pounce if anything happens."

Ramsdale then touched on his side's defeat to the reigning champions, insisting that they will learn from their mistakes:

“Nothing changes for us; we’ll go through everything as we always do and learn from our mistakes, individually and collectively. Unfortunately tonight we haven’t been able to do what we came to achieve.”

It seems a difficult task for Mikel Arteta's men to now win the league. They have spurned an eight-point lead over City over the course of the last three weeks.