Arsenal 5-1 City: Rampant Gunners rout Peps's fading champs

Arsenal thrash City to throw down gauntlet



Arsenal 5-1 City: Rampant Gunners rout Peps's fading champs

Victory Through Harmony. CREDIT: @laythy29


Things Fall Apart for Pep in humiliating capitulation as rampant Gunners humble sorry City 

Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City: 

Majestic Arsenal routed Manchester City 5-1 on a never-to-be-forgotten Sunday afternoon in North London, as things fell apart for Pep Guardiola. 

The trophy-laden visitors capitulated in face of the rampant Gunners, who effectively ensured the end of an era for Guardiola’s four-time Premier League champions, who must now embark on a big rebuild, if they ever want to return to the heights they once ruled. 

Goals from Martin Odegaard – after 103 seconds - Thomas Partey, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri helped Mikel Arteta's outstanding Gunners thrash the struggling champions in a memorable display full of verve allied with fight.

While Erling Haaland might have cancelled out Odegaard's opener with a 55th minute leveller, the big Norway striker had a day to forget in North London, compounded by Arsenal’s young gun Lewis-Skelly derisive take on the City man’s ‘Namaste’ goal celebration, when hitting his first goal for Arteta’s side.

For if the rambunctious Haaland did not know who Lewis-Skelly was during the feisty 2-2 draw at the Etihad back in September, the Norwegian striker certainly does now, as Arsenal vaporised their sorry visitors - with satisfaction levels in Islington peaking with talented Hale End graduate Lewis-Skelly’s goal celebration that mocked Haaland, which saw the young gun cheekily copy the Norway striker's zen pose, much to the delight of the raucous home crowd. 

However, speaking after the match, a dignified Arteta refused to gloat in the aftermath of victory over his old friend and mentor Guardiola, saying simply, with modest pride: “We were very aggressive, we played with a lot of courage.”

While Liverpool may have risen without trace to the top of the table, albeit fuelled by efficient results, Arteta’s effervescent side refused to allow Arne Slot’s side a procession to the title, cutting the gap to six points, with their game in hand the Merseyside derby at a fierce Goodison Park next week. 

While Arsenal have spluttered at times this term since running City agonisingly close to the title for the last two seasons, the signs indicate that Arteta’s side are moving through the gears – with the humiliation over Guardiola’s underwhelming side capping a good week for the Gunners, after their hard-fought 1-0 win at Wolves, prior to easing past Girona in sunny Catalonia to finish third out of 36 teams in the Champions League. 

Quite simply the Gunners were magnificent. 

Absolutely outstanding in sweeping away Guardiola's fading champions in a rampant response to their frustrating draw in Manchester in the autumn, with John Stones’ 98th minute leveller meaning that, until this weekend, Arsenal had one win from 11 matches against City. A dismal run which also included eight successive wins on the bounce for Guardiola over Arteta from October 2020 to April 2023 – culminating in the 4-1 rout in Manchester that effectively sealed the title that season, despite the Gunners being top of the table for a record 257 days.

Yet all that debilitating baggage was swept away after a momentous performance, with the result also notable for the fact it was the first time Arsenal had two teenagers scoring in the same league game for nearly 40 years, with fellow 18-year-old Nwaneri also finding the net for his scarcely believable seventh goal of a fruitful campaign. 

“Individually you need big performances throughout the team, we certainly had that,” said Arteta after the match, adding: “Myles had that.

“On top of that now, he adds a goal that is relevant and important.

“The same with Ethan, he comes into a position which is quite new for him, and he scores an incredible goal.”

  


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