Five Things Learned: Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, suffering their heaviest loss under Pep Guardiola.

The champions were humbled by a revenge-seeking Arsenal that landed their first blow within two minutes via Martin Odegaard. City barely enjoyed a moment’s relief in the second-half with Erling Haaland’s equaliser responded to by Thomas Partey almost immediately.

Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kai Havertz, and Ethan Nwaneri added to Arsenal’s tally, adding insult to injury for the visitors. Pep Guardiola’s team struggled across all aspects, with several names making notable blunders in the game.

Manuel Akanji failed to clear a ball from John Stones’ risky pass, and Havertz immediately gained possession and cut it back for Martin Odegaard to square home. Gabriel Martinelli converted from an open opportunity but saw his goal ruled out for offside.

City settled into the game after weathering the storm for the first 15 minutes but could not keep momentum on their side. David Raya denied Josko Gvardiol’s attempt and kept out Savinho.

Soon after, Stefan Ortega Moreno’s pass to Mateo Kovacic ended with the Croatian being dispossessed right on the edge of his penalty area, but Manchester City were spared by Kai Havertz, whose shot drifted miles off the target.

The visitors managed to fend off other attempts for the rest of the half, only to walk back to a rude awakening for the second. Savinho – the most promising factor in attack – found Haaland close to the far post, rising above William Saliba to head home the equaliser.

The Blues would not celebrate for long as they saw Partey intercept Phil Foden’s pass in midfield and fire home to give his side the lead. Following that, Manchester City only looked to lose footing, especially after the hour mark.

The visitors lost the ball in their half, and Lewis-Skelly received it inside the penalty area and curled past Ortega to give the hosts a two-goal cushion. Havertz found another opportunity to get his name on the scoresheet and didn’t make mistake in scoring from a counter. Ultimately, a stoppage-time strike from Nwaneri rounded off a forgetful evening for the Blues.

Having suffered the biggest defeat of the season, Manchester City remained in fourth place in the Premier League by the evening, but are only a point ahead of Chelsea, who feature on Monday night.

The Blues will now turn their attention to the FA Cup, which will see them in action against Leyton Orient on Saturday lunchtime. But before then, we take a look at the five biggest things we learned from Manchester City’s crushing 5-1 defeat against Arsenal!

An unorganised midfield, worsened by an abysmal defence

There is no denying that Manchester City’s defence and midfield are far off the quality they have displayed in past seasons, and Rodri’s absence was only the beginning of the champions” troubles.

More and more players started to fall with injuries that prevented the side from establishing momentum while playing together, and the clash against Arsenal brought the worst out of both positions, raising serious concerns over issues beyond injuries.

John Stones appeared assured against Club Brugge in a must-win Champions League fixture but played a troubling pass to his teammate for the first Arsenal goal, and turned his back for the second.

He should have also tracked back better for the third and fourth goals, while Manuel Akanji – who received the ball in a dangerous area – cannot escape responsibility of playing it back to Arsenal.

Matheus Nunes, who is playing out of position at right-back, struggled all evening and ended almost all of Manchester City’s attacks. Thankfully, Josko Gvardiol did not commit any blunders himself and was the most assured of the defensive unit.

Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, and Phil Foden could do little to help orchestrate effective plays, leaving plenty of space for Arsenal to counter into leaving Erling Haaland isolated up front while the midfield struggled to reach the Norwegian and kept misplacing passes.

The most emphatic review of the game would probably chalk up the defensive liabilities to fatigue. Still, it would be a kind way to describe a categorically spineless performance, especially towards the final half hour of the game.

Did the champions miss Ederson in goal?

Stefan Ortega has made a compelling case for himself to start for Manchester City, but the match against Arsenal showed why Pep Guardiola prefers Brazilian international Ederson between the posts.

Ortega played Mateo Kovacic into trouble and should have arguably done better for the fourth and fifth goals. But his biggest issue was ball distribution. City struggled to play out from the back as efficiently as they do with Ederson as the goalkeeper.

The Brazilian is arguably not better than his counterpart in traditional shot-stopping but does an impeccable job at helping his side push opponents to the other half. Ederson is understood to have withdrawn due to discomfort in his thigh, but is expected to return soon.

If Ederson fails to make a massive impact upon his return to the Manchester City side and Ortega’s ball distribution does not improve, the club may also have to consider keeping tabs on a potential goalkeeper in the summer.

Defeat in battle of intent

The reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium in which both sides settled for a 2-2 draw was as dramatic as it could get, with Erling Haaland’s post-match ‘Stay Humble’ comment at the centre of it all.

The Norwegian scored the only goal for the Blues in the 5-1 trashing, and the Emirates Stadium directed plenty of noise at the Manchester City striker, who took it on the chin and did not shy away from responding by pointing to the gold Premier League badge on his shirt.

That said, Arsenal were prepared for the war from the opening whistle, and City did not respond. Pep Guardiola’s side have picked several wins owing to their quality, but there are moments when his players took responsibility in the biggest games.

Bernardo Silva has single-handedly ended legacies, motivated with pure despise towards the opposite team. Phil Foden has tormented the Reds by simply demanding the ball at his feet. John Stones, Kevin de Bruyne, and Ilkay Gundogan have mercilessly toyed with hopes, pulling Manchester City back from adversity to script last-minute wins.

Yet, the Catalan-led side seem to be inching away from its mental fortitude that has helped them script history. A nervy defence and mistake-ridden midfield has been typical of City since late October last year.

But to crumble under pressure and make woeful decisions regarding something as essential as position when pressured is highly uncharacteristic of the champions that topped the domestic league four years in a row. After all, only so much of poor form can be blamed on injuries.

Call for action on Deadline Day

The January transfer window ends in a few hours and Manchester City have finally signed a midfielder. The club finalised talks with FC Porto to sign 23-year-old Spanish midfielder Nico Gonzalez for a €60 million fee.

The champions are understood to have wanted to negotiate a €10 million reduction on that price tag, but the result against Arsenal only caused the Portuguese side to stand firm on their initial valuation.

City can no longer afford to stay hesitant to act on Deadline day, hoping to push business until summer. The side desperately needs reinforcement that comes with Gonzalez’s profile, whose strength and versatility could be a valuable addition to the Blues’ exhausted midfield.

The club forced itself into the position by not acting promptly at the beginning of the transfer window, and they cannot repeat that same mistake in the summer when they will be led by incoming sporting director Hugo Viana.

Massive warning for City across competitions

Arsenal were only the first of a challenging run of fixtures awaiting Manchester City in February across competitions, with Leyton Orient in the fourth round of the FA Cup awaiting, followed by Real Madrid in the Champions League last-16 play-offs.

The Blues are far from the standards they have displayed in previous encounters against the Spanish side and could see any hope for trophies end within a week if they do not respond well after the defeat against Arsenal.

The champions will face Newcastle, Liverpool, and Tottenham this month in the Premier League and should they fail to improve, all three fixtures could result in zero points, putting the Blues in danger of missing out on the Champions League entirely for next season.

On the one hand, the nature of defeat against Arsenal sums up City’s season, with it being the biggest defeat for the club under Pep Guardiola. On the other, the only way forward is up. But considering its potential impact on the rest of the season and the summer transfer window, this game could be a defining moment for the team as we advance.