Arsenal Thrash Defending Champions Man City 5-1 to Stay in Title Race with Liverpool

Arsenal delivers a stunning 5-1 victory over Manchester City, keeping their Premier League title hopes alive and closing in on Liverpool in the standings.

On Sunday, Arsenal secured a decisive 5-1 win against defending champions Manchester City at the Emirates, allowing them to stay in step with Premiership leaders Liverpool.

In the clash between teams that ranked in the top positions for the past two seasons, the Gunners emerged victorious, closing their gap to within six points of leaders Liverpool, who still have a game in hand.

Arsenal got off to an ideal start within just two minutes when Manuel Akanji lost possession, allowing Kai Havertz to set up Martin Odegaard for the opening goal.

Havertz highlighted Arsenal’s need for a decisive goalscorer when he missed an excellent opportunity to extend their lead.

Pep Guardiola, the Spanish manager of Manchester City, gestures from the sidelines during the English Premier League match against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in London on February 2, 2025. (Photo by Glyn Kirk / AFP)

This nearly resulted in a costly situation when Erling Haaland scored his 250th career club goal with a header early in the second half, leveling the score for City.

However, this season the defending champions are merely a shadow of their former selves. They conceded a goal just 105 seconds after the restart when Thomas Partey’s shot deflected off John Stones and into the net.

Myles Lewis-Skelly faced a potential suspension due to his controversial red card in last weekend’s 1-0 victory against Wolves, but it was overturned.

The 18-year-old took full advantage of that second chance and scored his first goal for Arsenal by curling in their third.

After a heated 2-2 draw between the teams in September, Haaland advised Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to “stay humble.”

Arsenal’s English midfielder, Myles Lewis-Skelly (#49), dribbles the ball during a Premier League match against Manchester City at Emirates Stadium in London on February 2, 2025. (Photo by Glyn Kirk/AFP)

Lewis-Skelly marked his significant achievement by imitating Haaland’s signature meditation celebration.

Havertz took a powerful low shot into the far corner, exploiting Manchester City’s defensive vulnerabilities against Arsenal’s counter-attack.

Another Arsenal teenager completed the rout when Ethan Nwaneri curled a shot home during stoppage time.

The loss keeps City in fourth place but widens the gap to 15 points from the top, effectively ending their chances of winning a fifth consecutive championship.

Jean Philippe-Mateta emerged as Palace’s hero, scoring both goals in the second half, leading to United’s fifth defeat in their last six home league games.

With their victory, the Eagles have surpassed the Red Devils in the standings as Oliver Glasner’s team moves up to 12th place.

United’s mood had been elevated with three consecutive wins, but a lackluster home performance marked by creativity issues and defensive errors returned Ruben Amorim to square one at Old Trafford.

Kobbie Mainoo, initially positioned as a makeshift center-forward, struck the post with Manchester United’s strongest attempt during an energetic start before their attacking vigor diminished.

Palace have bounced back from a challenging start to the season, losing only once in their last seven league matches.

For the first hour, the visitors lacked Eberechi Eze’s creative spark due to his injury, which limited him to only a brief appearance off the bench.

Eze immediately made his presence felt when his free-kick led to Maxence Lacroix’s header hitting the bar, allowing Mateta to swiftly score from the rebound.

Things went from bad to worse for United when Lisandro Martinez was stretchered off the field with what seemed to be a serious knee injury.

Palace displayed ruthlessness to earn the three points as Daniel Munoz broke through the heart of the home team’s defense and selflessly passed to Mateta, who scored his sixth goal in five matches.

– Spurs alleviate relegation concerns –

Tottenham relieved the pressure on their embattled manager, Ange Postecoglou, and alleviated concerns of potentially being pulled into a relegation battle by securing a 2-0 victory at Brentford.

The Bees regretted squandering several opportunities against a Tottenham defense weakened by injuries.

Brentford contributed to the visitors’ initial goal when Vitaly Janelt accidentally headed Son Heung-min’s corner into his own net at 29 minutes.

Yoane Wissa’s header bounced off the bar as Brentford pressed for an equalizer.

However, Spurs capitalized on a counter-attack when Pape Sarr guided the ball between Valdimarsson’s legs following a pass from Son.

The win moves Tottenham up to 14th place, putting them 10 points ahead of the relegation zone.