Man City 4-1 Arsenal: 3 talking points as Gunners thumped at Etihad

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<p>&mdash; Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1651330203900059653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>April 26, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <p>Rob Holding got one goal back for Arsenal in the 86th minute after some good work from Leandro Trossard as the Gunners didn&rsquo;t roll over.</p> <p>Erling Haaland eventually got his goal in the last minute of injury time to rubber-stamp a brutal performance from City.</p> <h2>Man City 4-1 Arsenal: 3 talking points as Gunners thumped at Etihad</h2> <p>The game provided plenty of talking points, here they are.</p> <h2>1. Long ball City undoes Arsenal yet again</h2> <p>It was how City got the best of Arsenal at the Emirates last time, and it proved the way forward yet again. Long balls up to Haaland, and the Gunners backline simply couldn&rsquo;t cope with the City runners who fed off the striker&#8217;s flick-ons.</p> <p>Too many times, a long ball lifted up to Haaland caused the Gunners all sorts of problems, and it was the catalyst for the first De Bruyne goal.</p> <p>Would William Saliba have made a difference? Possibly but City were irresistible in the first half and Arsenal couldn&#8217;t cope.</p> <p><em>Continued on the next slide&#8230;</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;Talking Point #2 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_133997" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-133997 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1485511368.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1485511368.jpeg 1600w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1485511368-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1485511368-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Arsenal were miles off the pace. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>2. Worst time for worst performance</h2> <p>It has been somewhat of a theme over the last month, but when Arteta’s youthful outfit needed to show up in the biggest spot… they haven’t.</p> <p>At the Etihad, the Gunners were <a title="Man City 4-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as Gunners succumb to City exhibition" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/26/man-city-4-1-arsenal-player-ratings/" rel="">played off the park by a ruthless City side</a> as Arteta’s team had no answer to anything the hosts threw at them.</p> <p>With the loss, City essentially have two hands on the league title with a handful of games to go.</p> <p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Talking Point #3 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_134000" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-134000 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1707,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1252211101-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1252211101-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1252211101-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1252211101-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1252211101-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:2560px;">Arsenal will be playing in the Champions League next season. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>3. Champions League football officially clinched</h2> <p>While the City loss undoubtedly stings, there was some good news. With Nottingham City’s defeat of Brighton, the Gunners have officially clinched Champions League football next season.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">With Nottingham Forest's defeat of Brighton, Arsenal have confirmed their participation in <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/UCL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#UCL</a> football next season.</p> <p>Some good news for Gunners fans. 😀 <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://t.co/liFXIRqmZd">pic.twitter.com/liFXIRqmZd

<p>— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://twitter.com/CBSSportsGolazo/status/1651324988178198533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>April 26, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <p>At the beginning of the campaign, that was the goal for Arteta, and his side have accomplished their primary aim with five games remaining.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="jEHIhUBp8B"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/26/man-city-4-1-arsenal-player-ratings/">Man City 4-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as Gunners succumb to City exhibition</a></p></blockquote> <p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“Man City 4-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as Gunners succumb to City exhibition” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/27/man-city-4-1-arsenal-3-talking-points/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/26/man-city-4-1-arsenal-player-ratings/embed/#?secret=9LqlQWspYL#?secret=jEHIhUBp8B" data-secret="jEHIhUBp8B" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div> <p>The title race very well may be over, but at least the one thing the Gunners wanted out of this has come to fruition. It’s a small win, but a win nonetheless.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">