Manchester City beat stumbling Arsenal 2-1 on Sunday to seize control of the Premier League title race as Liverpool strengthened their push for a Champions League place.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners have been in pole position for months but are wobbling at the worst time as they seek to win the English title for the first time in 22 years.
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Erling Haaland was City’s match-winner, netting in the 65th minute after Rayan Cherki’s superb opener was cancelled out by Kai Havertz, who took advantage of a huge blunder by City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Arteta was on his knees in the closing moments as Havertz headed over the bar when presented with a golden chance to equalise.
The result in front of City’s jubilant fans means that if Pep Guardiola’s side were to win their match at lowly Burnley in midweek, they would be top of the table.
City are now in pole position to win their seventh Premier League title in nine seasons, while Arsenal face the agony of finishing second for the fourth straight season.
But Guardiola refused to get carried away, warning that momentum can change quickly.
“They’re in the semi-finals of the Champions League, didn’t lose one game. Momentum shifts in one instant,” he told Sky Sports. “They know it.
“I have a lot of respect but, of course, we want to win. We fought a lot as well.
“For many players today, they fought for the first time for the Premier League and they felt the pressure a little bit.
“Performances were not top but that is normal, it’s the process.”
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Just a few weeks ago, Arsenal were sitting pretty in four competitions, but their season is unravelling.
They were beaten by City in the League Cup final and were knocked out of the FA Cup by second-tier Southampton, although they are through to a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.
The club, who have not won the Premier League since 2004, have suffered just seven defeats in 55 matches this season in all competitions, but four of those have come in their past six games.
“We went very close but not close enough and now we have to accept we lost an opportunity today, a big one, but there are still five games to go,” said Arteta.
“We need to reset and go again because there are a lot of positives to take from the game.” The Spaniard added: “We have full belief that we can do it. Today we showed again the team that we are. It’s in our hands and it’s there for the taking.”
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– Van Dijk winner –
Earlier, Virgil van Dijk scored a 100th-minute winner in the Merseyside derby. Mohamed Salah had opened the scoring for last season’s champions but Beto levelled early in the second half for Everton.
Just a few weeks ago, the battle for the top five, which guarantees entry into the Champions League, looked as though it might be tight.
But fifth-placed Liverpool’s 2-1 victory in their first match at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium took them seven points clear of stumbling Chelsea, in sixth spot.
“Today was massive in the situation that we are, in the hunt for the Champions League spots,” Van Dijk said.
“That is definitely not Liverpool-worthy, in my opinion, but it is the reality and it was important we got the win.”
Fourth-placed Aston Villa squandered a two-goal lead against Sunderland but Tammy Abraham scored in stoppage time to secure a 4-3 win.
Ollie Watkins netted twice for Villa, who moved level on 58 points with third-placed Manchester United, three clear of Liverpool.
At the other end of the table, Morgan Gibbs-White scored a hat-trick as struggling Nottingham Forest came from behind against Burnley to win 4-1 and heap the pressure on troubled Tottenham.
Forest, involved in a relegation scrap with West Ham and Tottenham, are now five points clear of 18th-placed Spurs, with Wolves and Burnley almost certainly doomed.
West Ham, a point above Spurs, travel to face Crystal Palace on Monday.