Arsenal’s title hopes are now in flames after they were beaten by a dominant Manchester City team on Wednesday in a 4-1 win for the defending champions.

The Gunners have been at the top of the Premier League table with four points ahead of their hosts before traveling to Manchester City in what has been tagged by many as the title decider.

However, Arsenal’s run of form before their trip to Etihad Stadium was not convincing enough that they would get their first victory at the Stadium for the first time since 2015 after drawing their last three.

Manchester City started the game on top and got their first goal of the game deservedly after Kevin De Bruyne’s individual brilliance after 7 minutes. Manchester City will later add a second goal just before half-time as De Bruyne provided the cross for defender John Stones to head in in a first half that they totally dominated.

In the second half, the performance didn’t change for Mikel Arteta’s side, and they swiftly conceded a third, which completed Kevin De Bruyne’s brace. Arsenal then put one back through Rob Holding before Erling Haaland went ahead to break the record for most goals scored in a single 38-game Premier League season with a stoppage-time strike.

Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne despite the result, refused to admit that Manchester City would win the title, preferring to see the seven games remaining through as he believes that anything can still happen.

“It’s too long. We know what people will say. It’s so hard. A lot of things can happen. There are still seven games left – and we’re still behind them [in the table]. People say we will win the title. We won’t give in until it’s mathematical. Our schedule is hectic.” De Bruyne said.

Manchester City are still in the Race for a treble and will continue their Premier League games this weekend against Fulham.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu