Arsenal 5 Manchester City 1: Lewis-Skelly’s Moment, Nwaneris Magic and so many city errors

On February 3, 2025By Littum

Arsenal dominated the Premier League champions at the Emirates and beat Manchester City 5-1 to keep pressure on Liverpool at the top of the table.

Mikel Arteta’s side took the lead within two minutes through Martin Odegaard, before Erling Haaland equalized with a thumping headline shortly after half time. However, the city was only for a minute or so, before Thomas Partey restored Arsenal’s advantage.

From then, Arsenal was in total control and scored further goals through their impressive teenage back Myles Lewis-Skkelly, Kai Havertz and then a unique curling strike from the replacement Ethan Nwaneri for extra time.

Arsenal is six points behind league leaders Liverpool who have a game in his hand, while the defeat leaves City in fourth place, 15 points from the pace and the level of fifth placed Newcastle United.

James McNicholas, Sam Lee and Thom Harris analyze the main voice points …

This was Lewis-Skelly’s Day

Back in September, Mikel Arteta Lewis-Skelly gave his Premier League debut at the meeting between these two teams at Etihad. It was a huge statement about the manager’s belief in the teenager, then 17 – especially when he had already been booked to encourage David Raya to go down the wound behind Spanjolen’s goal.

Since then, Lewis-Skelly has gone from strength to strength. For this game, Arteta chose him in front of £ 42 million summer signing Riccardo Calafiori. After scoring Arsenal’s third goal, cut inside, before benting the ball in with his weaker right mate, he will be difficult to displace. Emirates Stadium has a new hero.

He loved the fans further by replicating Haaland’s meditative party-a-recall to a short flashpoint between Norwegian striker and Lewis-Skelly in the 2-2 on Etihad.

(Alex Panting/Getty Images)

The emergence of Lewis-Skelly and the Fellow Academy product Ethan Nwaneri has been one of the positive things in Arsenal’s season. Nwaneri even found time to put the icing on the cake with its other beautiful goal of the week.

James McNicholas

The uninspiring structure of the city

With Stefan Ortega’s dangerous care for Mateo Kovacic Midway through the first half and presented Havertz with a gilded chance, City reached a gloomy landmark in northern London. It was a 23. Error that led to an opposition shot so far in the Premier League; Even with 14 games left over, it is more than they have committed in each of their last 10 full seasons. They made it 24 with a crooked Phil foot pass carved by Partey, later in the second half, which the Arsenal midfielder scored from to make it 2-1 to the hosts.

The sequence was nothing we haven’t seen before – a carbon kulkopy of what The athletic described as The most dangerous care in football In December – but Ortega fell straight into the trap. His ball out was short, and Kovacic, not for the first time in a dull first half, was crowded.

Apart from the obvious risks, City’s approach to structure throughout the game was rarely inventive enough to break through Arsenal’s defensive form. With Matheus Nunes pushing up in full back role, City formed a back-three with the ball, with Kovacic often the only opportunity to move on with the ball through the middle. It forced them to go wide, but goes out of nuner usually came right back while Savinho fought for space on the opposite side.

It helped when City’s No. 10s fell into midfield, but Omar Marmoush was loose with his back to target. When they could zipper the ball up to the foot, they struggled to pick up the pace and move with him into the attacking third, which usually means he had to come back.

With City still so fragile in their defensive third, mistakes possess the last thing they need. But an inability to consistently find their way through the first two press lines is equally harmful to their fight to control such great games.

Thom Harris

HAVERTZ Summated Arsenals striker conundrum

In some respects, this Kai Havertz performance demonstrated the complexity of Arsenal’s attacking situation.

The biggest speech point in the first half, except for Arsenal’s early goal, was the chance to do it 2-0 asked by Havertz.

There is no doubt that Arsenal could have a more clinical number of nine. It is noteworthy that Arsenal in Havertz and Gabriel Jesus ended up with two center-forward, which shares a common and crucial weakness: finishing.

As Jesus now sidelines, Arsenal has spent much of January chasing a new center-forward. With an attempt to sign Ollie Watkins, who apparently failed, they now have only 24 hours trying to fill this vacant position.

The curious thing is that although Arsenal manages to land an attacker, they will have difficulty loosening Havertz. For all the attention of that miss, out of possession, he continues to mark all the boxes that Arteta wants from a forward. His urgent and physical brings important structure to the team.

And yet in the second half when a more difficult chance came his way, he ended with Aplomb. His finishing is inconsistent, but so many other aspects of his plays are reliable.

Everyone agrees that Arsenal needs an attacker. But can Arteta find one this month, he wants to appreciate more than Havertz? It’s more difficult to say.

James McNicholas

The individual mistakes of the city and why they are where they are

There were the bones of a good urban performance in there considering the problems they have had this season, but the mistakes that Thom has mentioned above really derived hope of getting something out of this.

The foot passes directly to Partey is the real murderer for City because it has just come back in the game at 1-1, with the foot that played its role in it, admitted a goal as soon as, and then cheap really took the wind out of their Sail. It’s hard to look at such mistakes without taking into account the wider context of their uneven form since November: During this race, which has improved something too late, they have the strait to make things worse for themselves, even if things are going well .

The most famous example was Feyenoord when they were 3-0 up with 15 minutes to walk, but drew 3-3, something that really ruined confidence. Recently, even when the results are picked up, they threw a 2-0 lead in Brentford to pull 2-2 and a 2-0 lead at PSG to lose 4-2.

The city’s players continue to fight and I think we saw it on Sunday and they continue to try to play the type of football that gets them back to the top but this habit of individual mistakes (and admits goals in fast order) really inhibit their progress.

Today, they just kept digging holes for themselves.

Sam Lee

How did Haaland move on after his ‘stay humble’ comments last time?

Given his “stay humble” comments after the reverse game in September, Haaland wore brown of Arsenal fans’ Hubris as London’s galling against a pleasant win.

Given what unfolded during the game, in terms of the festivities and the songs, Norwegian’s point was probably proven quite well, but nonetheless, when you comment as it, hope that your own shape is in order.

For a few months at the end of the year, with Haaland, who struggled to score as City’s form nosedived, the setback was difficult to complain about. Here, however, he did more or less what he could. Sure, Arsenal’s Centerbacks chose his pocket a few times, but he scored to give City Hope, only for them behind him to throw the hope he had generated again.

Haaland generally lives and dies of the service he gets and often lacks it. Today he did the business and could only look at when mistakes from others spread his good work.

Still, the Arsenal fans will enjoy his and the city’s downfall on the day and possibly beyond.

Sam Lee

What did Mikel Arteta say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at his press conference after the match.

What did Pep Guardiola say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at his press conference after the match.

What next for Arsenal?

Wednesday 5th February: Newcastle United (A), Carabao Cup semi -final (second staple), at. 20 UK TIME, 15:00 A

What next for the city?

Saturday, February 8th: Leyton Orient (A), FA Cup Fourth Round, 12.15 UK TIME, 7.15 AM ET