Man City v Arsenal as it happened: De Bruyne scores twice as City close gap
Read the key moments below or click here for the full minute-by-minute commentary.
Key moments
90+6' Nothing more will happen in this game as the referee blows for full time.
90+5' 4 - 1 Goal! Phil Foden displays great vision and sends a pass to Erling Haaland (Manchester City), who shows brilliant composure inside the box to bury the ball into the bottom left corner. The score is 4:1.
88' That's a clear yellow card. Rodri (Manchester City) goes into the book.
87' Substitution. Jack Grealish is replaced by Phil Foden (Manchester City).
86' 3 - 1 Goal! Rob Holding (Arsenal) pounced on a loose ball inside the box and beats the goalkeeper with a shot inside the right post. He makes it 3:1.
80' A substitution has been made. Gabriel Jesus goes off and Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal) comes on.
80' Pep Guardiola has decided to substitute Kevin De Bruyne and he is replaced by Julian Alvarez (Manchester City).
80' Bukayo Saka will be replaced by Reiss Nelson (Arsenal).
76' Thomas Partey (Arsenal) receives a yellow card.
75' Jack Grealish (Manchester City) goes in the referee's notebook after being shown a yellow card.
72' Pep Guardiola has decided to make a change. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) replaces Ilkay Gundogan.
71' It's time for a substitution. Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal) comes on in place of Martin Odegaard.
60' Here is a change. Granit Xhaka is going off and Mikel Arteta gives the last tactical orders to Jorginho (Arsenal).
60' It is time for a substitution. Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) is on for Gabriel Martinelli.
54' 3 - 0 Goal! Fantastic team goal! Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) was set free in the area by Erling Haaland and fired low past Aaron Ramsdale. 3:0.
53' What a wasted opportunity by Erling Haaland (Manchester City)! He unleashed a powerful low shot from the centre of the box, but Aaron Ramsdale makes a decent save to thwart him.
46' The whistle blows and Michael Oliver starts the second half.
45+6' The referee blows his whistle to end the first half and the players are now heading to their respective dressing rooms.
45+5' Ruben Dias (Manchester City) is booked after bringing down an opponent. Michael Oliver had an easy-decision to make.
45+3' Referee Michael Oliver points to the centre spot to indicate that the goal stands after the VAR review. John Stones (Manchester City) goes wild in celebration.
45+2' Wait! Referee Michael Oliver immediately makes the VAR signal, most likely to see if there was an offside in the build-up play.
45+1' Gooal! No wait, it's been ruled out for offside. John Stones (Manchester City) disagrees, but the linesman is sure about his call.
41' Aaron Ramsdale was forced into action to thwart Erling Haaland (Manchester City). He found himself some space after latching on to a pass and unleashed a shot to the bottom left corner but couldn't beat the keeper.
36' The opposition can't get near Erling Haaland (Manchester City), who finally takes a shot inside the box. The effort looks goalbound but veers just wide of the left post at the last second.
32' Erling Haaland (Manchester City) produces a good strike that sails towards the left post, but the goalkeeper shows great reflexes and dives to keep the effort from hitting the net.
28' Erling Haaland (Manchester City) swept past a couple of defenders inside the box and tried to score into the bottom left corner, but great anticipation by Aaron Ramsdale allowed him to make a comfortable save.
26' Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) wriggles into space inside the box with excellent ball control, but his effort on goal is well blocked.
7' 1 - 0 Goal! What a beauty from just outside the box! Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) lashed the ball with incredible pace and power into the bottom right corner.
3' There's a melee in the box, but the referee isn't interested in the appeals from Manchester City for a penalty. Play continues.
1' Here we go, today's match is starting right now.
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Starting XIs
Preview
A season-defining game for Manchester City and Arsenal awaits as the winners will put themselves in pole position for the Premier League (PL) title.
After seeing off Bayern Munich (W 4-1 on aggregate) to reach the Champions League semi-finals and Sheffield United (W 3-0) in the FA Cup semi-final, the hosts are in prime form as they look to close Arsenal’s five-point gap at the top of the table knowing they still have two games in hand.
Their displays here in the league have ramped up the pressure on the leaders as the Cityzens have won each of their last six home PL fixtures by at least a two-goal margin, even though only two of them came with a clean sheet.
However, Pep Guardiola’s side hasn’t conceded in any of the last four H2Hs here (W4), highlighting how difficult they’ve made it for the North Londoners in recent years.
None of those meetings were potential title deciders though, and after being eight points clear at the start of the month, Mikel Arteta – once Guardiola’s deputy at Man City – has seen his team stumble with the finishing line homing into view.
Three consecutive league draws, two of them after going 2-0 up inside 30 minutes, is a concerning trend amid accusations that Arsenal are bottling it.
Arteta disagrees, saying he didn’t see a lack of confidence when they scored twice after the 85th minute to draw 3-3 with Southampton, but their title challenge now depends on them extending a five-match unbeaten run in away league games (W3, D2).
Simply put, a loss here would most likely end their title chances even despite City’s demanding schedule from now until the season’s end.
Players to watch: Riyad Mahrez scored an FA Cup hat-trick on Saturday and given he’s made three goal contributions in his last four PL appearances against Arsenal (G1, A2), could have a role to play here. That could be important if either Gabriel Jesus or Gabriel Martinelli net early – both have scored twice within the first 30 minutes across Arsenal’s last three games!
Hot stat: Man City’s PL home games this season have produced a league-high average of 2.2 goals per first half.
