Arsenal moved back to within six points of the Premier League summit with a 5-1 rout of Manchester City, helped by Myles Lewis-Skelly's first senior goal.
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Lewis-Skelly, who was sent off in last week's victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers but saw his suspension rescinded on appeal, curled home just after the hour.
At 18 years and 129 days old, it meant he became the youngest player to score in the Premier League against the reigning champions since Wayne Rooney, who was 17y 150d, for Everton against Arsenal in March 2003, only for Ethan Nwaneri to manage the same feat later in the match, scoring Arsenal's fifth goal aged 17y 318d.
Arsenal first went ahead with just 103 seconds played, Martin Odegaard sweeping into an open net after a mix-up involving John Stones and Manuel Akanji.
Erling Haaland equalised early in the second half with a fine header, but Arsenal retook the lead one minute later through Thomas Partey's deflected strike.
Lewis-Skelly's brilliant effort gave them breathing space and Kai Havertz added a breakaway fourth before, deep in stoppage time, Nwaneri curled in spectacularly to complete the scoring.
Arsenal are now nine points clear of fourth-placed Man City, who could be overtaken by Chelsea should they beat West Ham United on Monday.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
23 | +35 | 56 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
24 | +27 | 50 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
24 | +13 | 47 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
24 | +13 | 41 |
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
24 | +13 | 41 |
How the match unfoled
Less than two minutes in, Akanji was put in trouble by Stones' pass and lost possession on the edge of Man City's area, allowing Havertz to square for a simple Odegaard finish.
Gabriel Martinelli's dink was disallowed for offside four minutes later, while at the other end, David Raya made two excellent saves – one from a Josko Gvardiol header and another to deny Savinho – though Havertz squandered a great chance for Arsenal when he fired wide with only Stefan Ortega to beat.
Oh, Kai Havertz.
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 2, 2025
The @Arsenal forward misses a golden chance to make it 2-0 to the Gunners 😬#ARSMCI pic.twitter.com/aiYz720MFg
Haaland dragged City level 10 minutes into the second half, nodding Savinho's cross beyond Raya, but parity lasted just 105 seconds as Partey’s long-range effort deflected in off Stones.
Arsenal pulled clear when Ortega failed to keep out Lewis-Skelly's effort at the end of a mazy run five minutes later, but the hosts were not done there.
Havertz finished a lightning break to make it 4-1, before substitute Nwaneri completed the rout with a pinpoint strike.
Arsenal get their revenge
There is no love lost between Arsenal and Man City, who have forged one of the great modern-day Premier League rivalries over the last two seasons, with Pep Guardiola's men edging the Gunners in two close-run title races.
Their matches tend to be fractious, and September's 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium was no exception.
After Stones scored a 98th-minute equaliser to break Arsenal hearts, Haaland threw the ball against Gabriel Magalhaes' head, sparking a tussle involving several players.
Haaland also clashed with several members of the Gunners' camp after full-time and it seems Gabriel had not forgotten those scenes.
When Odegaard made it 1-0, Gabriel reacted by celebrating in front of Haaland. He might have regretted those taunts when the Norwegian scored with a magnificent header, though.
But Arsenal streaked away from there, allowing Gabriel to have the last laugh. To rub salt into Haaland’s wounds, Lewis-Skelly celebrated by mimicking his iconic meditation celebration.
Buoyed by this memorable win, Arsenal will now bid to overturn a two-goal deficit against Newcastle United in the EFL Cup semi-finals on Wednesday.
They will have one eye on Liverpool's match in hand at Everton on 12 February, before returning to league action at Leicester City three days later.
City errors punished again
Last time out in the Premier League, Man City were forced to come from behind to beat Chelsea after a mistake from debutant Abdukodir Khusanov gifted the Blues an early opener.
Khusanov dropped to the bench on Sunday, with Stones brought in for his first league start since before Christmas.
If Guardiola thought the return of his most experienced centre-back would bring an error-free performance, he was mistaken.
Stones' pass to Akanji across the edge of the box was ill-advised, and the Switzerland international – taking his very first touch of the match – was blindsided by Leandro Trossard, who combined with Declan Rice to turn possession over.
And while there was a huge hint of fortune about Arsenal's second goal, it came from another loose Man City pass in a dangerous position, this time from Phil Foden.
Man City have now committed eight errors leading to goals in the Premier League this season, their most in any campaign under Guardiola.
They never recovered from that sucker punch as their defensive frailties were ruthlessly exposed.
Matters do not get any easier for them, either, with Premier League matches against Newcastle, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur – as well as a two-legged UEFA Champions League playoff against Real Madrid – to come this month.
Club reports
Arsenal report | Man City report
What the managers said
Mikel Arteta: "It is a great day for us, especially with the necessity that we had to win the game. The manner that we have done it I am really pleased.
"We had to suffer and in moments we needed a bit of luck, and we had it."
Pep Guardiola: "It's happened all season, we are giving away too many things, we are aware this cannot happen, it happened.
"But we reacted really well and we played with personality and we defended so good and then with the ball we were a threat but unfortunately after the second happened, again many times we had the momentum.
"For the deflection and in other situations we conceded the goals."
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Key facts
Arsenal have gone unbeaten in 14 consecutive Premier League matches (W9 D5) for the first time since December 2018 under Unai Emery (also a run of 14).
Arteta lost nine of his first 10 managerial meetings with Guardiola (W1) but after today’s win, he has become only the third manager to go five matches unbeaten in all competitions against the Man City boss (W2 D3), after Thomas Tuchel (2016-2021) and Jurgen Klopp (2021-2022).
Man City have conceded 53 goals in 36 matches in all competitions so far this season, only one fewer than in 59 matches last campaign (54).
Man City have suffered their heaviest defeat in a Premier League away match since losing 4-0 to Everton in January 2017.
