Manchester City kept their winning streak after they beat Arsenal away from home at Emirates Stadium by 1-0 in the Premier League.
Raheem Sterling was the only scorer in the game. He scored on the second-minute mark to give his team three more points in the title race.
With this win, Manchester City extended their winning streak to 18 games in all competitions and 14 of those in the Premier League. Pep’s side now got 59 points in 25 games. They are now 10 points ahead at the top of the table.
Arsenal at the moment 10th in the table with 34 points in 25 games and 11 of those games they suffered defeat.
Arsenal 0-1 Manchester City Team News:
Mikel Arteta made few changes in his side from the midweek clash against Benfica. Nicolas Pepe came in the side in place of Emile Smith Rowe. Rob Holding and Pablo Mari were the centre-back pairing. Kieran Tierney started after his injury problem. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang led the line for the Gunners.
Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola shuffled his side as well from the midweek game against Everton. Kevin De Bruyne started as a false nine after recovering from a muscular injury. Ilkay Gundogan also returned to the side after he was rested in midweek for a minor injury. Veteran defensive midfielder Fernandinho started and Rodrigo Hernandez was on the bench. Rejuvenated centre-back John Stones started as well in this encounter.
Arsenal 0-1 Manchester City Post-Match Analysis:
Manchester City scored very early into the game. Riyad Mahrez delivered an accurate cross for the shortest man in the field Raheem Sterling who scored off his head without any challenge. Straightway after the goal City got another glorious opportunity to doubled the margin from an outrageous through ball from De Bruyne but Sterling made a mess with the opportunity and could not finish an easy chance.
After that Guardiola’s side had good chances to extend the margin in the first half but they weren’t clinical enough in front of the goal. Arsenal who were completely ripped apart by Manchester City in the early moments of the game luckily didn’t concede any more and finished the first half much better.
Manchester City could not replicate their first-half form in the second half and they gave away possession at times. The City looked sloppy and unable to create many. De Bruyne’s inventive effort went wide thankfully for Bernd Leno who was out of position. Joao Cancelo had the best chance of the second half but his shot went wide of the mark.
Even though The Citizens conceded possession at times but their two centre-backs were solid and for that reason, their defence looked watertight.
Notable Performances:
Ruben Dias(CB) – (7/10)(Manchester City): He was magnificent in this game. Defensively unshakable and lead his team from the back.
Raheem Sterling(LW) – (7/10)(Manchester City): He was the only scorer in the game and took his opportunity brilliantly. Sterling could have and should have scored another.
Rob Holding(CB) – (7/10)(Arsenal): In this defeat, he was positive for the Gunners. Defensively solid and distribution was pretty good as well. Unluckily he suffered a head injury and had to substitute.
Arsenal will play the next second leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 32 at home against Benfica on Thursday and Manchester City’s next game is against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg on Wednesday night.
