In the big game that will most likely define the Premier League, Manchester City completely swept Arsenal away at the Etihad and are now favorites to reclaim the title. With their victory, Pep Guardiola’s team is two points behind Arsenal, but has two games in hand. Just winning one is enough to take the lead. He already clearly depends on himself. In addition, he has a slightly friendlier calendar left than the Gunners and, above all, is in a much better dynamic.

Mikel Arteta remains unbeaten at City. This season, Guardiola’s team had already beaten Arsenal twice. And the night in Manchester confirmed the crossover tendencies of both. City were coming from seven consecutive victories, and Arsenal, from three draws, in which a large part of the income had been left.

If anyone expected an even match, they were disappointed. At City, Guardiola ditched his three-man defense and returned to the classic four-man formation. The night was a festival of the connection between De Bruyne and HÃ¥land. For once, the roles were reversed because the Belgian scored twice, a goal at the beginning of each period, and the Norwegian could only score one, and the added one.

Defending City is usually very difficult, and if it wasn’t for Ramsdale, the Gunners’ goalkeeper, the beating could have been historic. During the first half Ramsdale made three creditable saves on the powerful Norwegian striker.

City took the lead in the sixth minute with a right-footed shot from outside the area by De Bruyne that hit the post. Arsenal were non-existent offensively in the first half, with all their stars missing or disabled by City’s choral play.

The goal was suspenseful. Michael Oliver disallowed it at the behest of a linesman, but the VAR confirmed the defender’s legal position.

If Arsenal already had a very complicated mission to start the second half, everything got even more complicated in the 53rd minute, when an error by Odegaard made it 3-0. Odegaard unloaded the ball backwards in the middle of the field. The ball reached HÃ¥land, who ended up assisting De Bruyne, who just stepped into the area and crossed it with his right boot.

In the 70th, Odegaard left, which happened without pain or glory, and Guardiola retired Gündogan for Riad Mahrez, who was coming off a hat trick in his last game; that’s how impressive Manchester City’s bench is.

Arsenal tried to fix the result in the last quarter of an hour, in which Guardiola removed De Bryune from the field. In 86 Holding scored 3-1, the goal of honor for the Londoners, but HÃ¥land hunted his own in 95. He is an insatiable goalscorer. He has already made 33 in this Premier League in which City is making unstoppable progress towards the title.