Pep Guardiola admitted that Manchester City’s vulnerability was laid bare by Arsenal as they crumbled in the final half-hour, leaving their Premier League title hopes in disarray.
Erling Haaland had briefly revived City’s chances by canceling out Martin Ødegaard’s opener, but Arsenal responded emphatically with four unanswered goals. It was their biggest win over City since a 5-1 victory in 2003, putting them six points behind league leaders Liverpool. Meanwhile, City now sit nine points off the top in fourth place, with their chances of retaining the title slipping away.
It was an unprecedented defeat for Guardiola, marking the first time he has lost a match by a four-goal margin in his managerial career. City have now conceded four goals in a game on four occasions this season, a worrying trend for a team that has set such high defensive standards in recent years. Their second-half collapse began when Thomas Partey restored Arsenal’s lead following a misplaced pass from Phil Foden.
Reflecting on the game, Guardiola acknowledged his team’s failure to maintain their performance levels throughout the match. “The feeling is why we have not done in the last 20, 25 minutes what we had done well for the first 60,” he said. “Now we have to reflect and talk with the players and hope that it doesn’t happen again.”
When asked whether fragile confidence played a role in the defeat, he admitted that it was a possibility. “It can be fragile because it happens so many times. But we have a duty to learn, and there are always margins to get better. It’s happened all season, we are giving away too many things. We are aware this cannot happen, but it happened.”
John Stones, who was at fault for Arsenal’s first two goals, issued an apology to City’s traveling fans. “It is hard to put into words straight after a game like that. Pride hurts. Sorry to the fans that have travelled to come and watch that,” he said. “How we played in the last 30 minutes was not acceptable. Personally and collectively, it’s not us.
“It is not nice to be involved in that when you know it’s not your team in those situations. We were in the game and it was a swinging point. It swung the wrong way for us. I am angry, upset personally and collectively about how the game finished. There are a lot of different things that I still haven’t figured out as to why it hasn’t clicked. The heart’s there, the passion’s there; everyone’s got the right intention. We all need to stick together.”
For Arsenal, the result was a statement victory. It extended their unbeaten run against City to five matches and reaffirmed their title ambitions. Mikel Arteta was full of praise for his team’s performance. “It’s a great day for us – for the result and the manner that we did it,” he said. “We were very aggressive and we played with a lot of courage.”
A standout moment came when Myles Lewis-Skelly, an 18-year-old midfielder, scored his first senior goal. He celebrated by performing the “Zen” celebration popularized by Haaland, adding another layer of drama to the match.
Arteta admitted he hadn’t expected the celebration but was impressed by Lewis-Skelly’s confidence. “He’s got it inside him, he feels it and he’s very good at expressing it as well, and some players struggle with that. He does it in every action, he does it with his body language, he does it with his facial expression, how he lives the game, and then with the ball, because he takes it and he wants to make things happen, he takes risks, he takes initiative, and at his age that’s not easy to see.”
Teammate Declan Rice downplayed any controversy surrounding the celebration. “It’s football antics. Things happen on the pitch. He celebrated. It’s obviously the Haaland celebration. I know he has respect for him, the whole team has big respect for him because of what he’s done, he’s a big player.”
With Arsenal closing the gap at the top and City struggling to find their rhythm, the title race remains wide open.
