Manchester City defeats Arsenal to go top of the Premier League

• Arsenal hosted Manchester City at the Emirates in the Premier League on Wednesday night
• The clash saw the top two sides in the Premier League face each other at the Emirates
• Goals from De Bruyne, Grealish and Haaland ensured City sealed the victory to go top of the table

At the Emirates Stadium, a crucial 3-1 victory over title rivals Arsenal propelled Manchester City to the top of the Premier League with goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Erling Haaland.

Arsenal had a three-point lead going into Wednesday’s top-two game, but De Bruyne punished Takehiro Tomiyasu’s blunder for the opener after 24 minutes.

Arsenal’s lead at the top appeared to be secure after Bukayo Saka’s penalty, but Grealish scored in the 72nd minute and Haaland added a third to give City a seventh straight victory over the Gunners.

As they attempt to win their first championship since the 2003–04 “Invincibles” season, Arsenal loses points for the third game in a row, although they still have a game in hand over City.

Eddie Nketiah squandered a fantastic early opportunity by heading Oleksandr Zinchenko’s exquisite cross wide, and Arsenal were punished moments later, De Bruyne seizing onto Tomiyasu’s startling backpass and lofting first-time into the net.

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne celebrates after scoring the opener against Arsenal in the Premier League at the Emirates on Wednesday, February 15 2023. | PHOTO: Independent |

The Gunners were given a penalty when Nketiah was taken down by Ederson, who had already been warned for time-wasting after Tomiyasu missed a good opportunity to make up for his error by volleying over.

When the opportunity arose, Saka calmly went up and calmly stroked into the bottom-left corner to restore parity before halftime. However, City did hit the bar in stoppage time when Rodri’s header rebounded off Nathan Ake and onto the woodwork.

After the break, the hosts were given a significant reprieve when Gabriel was penalized for bringing down Haaland; however, a video assistant referee (VAR) review determined that the City striker had been offside prior to the foul.

Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka celebrates after scoring the equaliser against Manchester City in the Premier League on Wednesday, February 15 2023. | PHOTO: Sky |

Manchester City show the champions spirit

As they overcame a boisterous atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium to move atop the Premier League and hand Arsenal their first home loss of the year, City appeared to be the squad that had won four titles in five years.

Even though the Gunners dominated possession after the interval, a much-improved City performance after the break limited the hosts to no efforts on target in the second 45 minutes. Grealish and Haaland both showed fantastic killing instincts to grab their opportunities and seal the victory.

Kevin de Bruyne the key man

De Bruyne was controversially left off the starting lineup against Tottenham, but Guardiola’s decision to start him here was vindicated by an outstanding performance from the Belgian international.

De Bruyne scored the game’s first goal with a skilful finish to take advantage of Tomiyasu’s badly under-hit backpass, and he was substituted by Kalvin Phillips in the 87th minute after impressively setting up Haaland’s goal.

The six league goals the Belgian international has scored against Arsenal are the most of any opponent in his career.