LONDON: Arsenal kept alive their Premier League title challenge with a 5-1 demolition of dismal Manchester City on Sunday as the troubled champions endured another humiliation in their season from hell.
Mikel Arteta’s side had no margin for error in the title race after leaders Liverpool won 2-0 at Bournemouth on Saturday to move nine points clear of the Gunners.
They rose to the occasion with a blistering performance inspired by Martin Odegaard’s opener after 103 seconds at the Emirates Stadium.
Erling Haaland hauled City level soon after half-time with his 25th goal in all competitions this season.
But the careless mistakes that have hampered City throughout a dismal campaign proved decisive when Thomas Partey capitalized on Phil Foden’s poor pass to restore Arsenal’s lead.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s first Arsenal goal and late strikes from Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri put the seal on a masterful display as the Gunners closed within six points of Liverpool.
Liverpool’s game in hand keeps them firmly in control of the title race, but Arsenal’s vibrant performance extended their unbeaten run to 14 games and underlined their desire to push the Reds to the finish line.
City have now failed to win any of their last four league meetings with Arsenal as their six-game undefeated run in the top-flight came to a brutal end.
With a fifth successive title long erased from City’s ambitions after their wretched season, Pep Guardiola’s fourth placed side are focused on qualifying for the Champions League.
But even that could be beyond them — let alone getting past Real Madrid in this season’s play-off round — unless Guardiola can fix the gaping holes in his defense and the lack of energy in midfield.
Guardiola had opted to bring in John Stones for former Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov, who endured an error-strewn debut against Chelsea last weekend.
But Stones was involved in the calamitous defending that gifted Arsenal the lead in the second minute.
It was Stones’ pass to the marked Manuel Akanji that put his fellow defender in a difficult situation.
Akanji was immediately robbed by Leandro Trossard before Kai Havertz picked out Odegaard and the Arsenal captain slotted home from 10 yards with City’s defense in disarray.
Already fearing the worst, Guardiola stomped back to the bench with a thunderous expression.
City controlled possession but were toothless for long periods, prompting all manner of agitated gestures from the exasperated Guardiola.
Haaland angered Arsenal after telling Arteta to “stay humble” and throwing the ball at Gunners defender Gabriel Magalhaes during the stormy 2-2 draw earlier this season.
So inevitably, it was Haaland who grabbed City’s 55th minute equalizer.
Savinho’s perfectly weighted cross gave Haaland the chance to get in front of William Saliba and bury his close-range header.
But Arsenal took just two minutes to wipe from smile from Haaland’s face.
Foden’s pass was picked off by Partey and the Ghana midfielder unleashed a powerful long-range drive that went in via a wicked deflection off Stones.
Arsenal scented blood and Lewis-Skelly went for the kill in the 62nd minute.
Cutting inside the City area, the 18-year-old left-back showed poised that belied his lack of experience as he curled a fine finish into the far corner.
In a cheeky jibe at Haaland, Lewis-Skelly marked the goal by sitting down with his legs crossed to mimic the City star’s meditative celebration.
There was more misery for shell-shocked City as the much-maligned Havertz got on the scoresheet in the 76th minute.
Gabriel Martinelli swaggered through City’s leaky defense and teed up Havertz for a clinical finish from 10 yards.
Deep into stoppage-time, teenage forward Nwaneri delivered the final blow, whipping a superb finish into the far corner from an acute angle.
Arsenal fans taunted Guardiola with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” and, not for the first time in a chastening afternoon, City had no response.