Man City Punished Us – Mikel Arteta Admits

• Says Arsenal’s thumping defeat could have been worse
• But the Gunners won’t give up in title chase

Manchester City were in devastating form on Wednesday night as they cut Arsenal’s lead on the Premiership table to just two points with two games in hand

And Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta made no pretence in admitting that his side was well beaten by a rampaging City and they could have conceded even more goals at the Etihad.

It was a troubling time as the Gunners saw their title hopes take another hit on Wednesday with Arteta acknowledging after the game that the hosts were deserved winners and far superior to his team on the night.

He told BT Sport; “We were beaten by a better team. They were exceptional today and when that’s the case it’s extremely difficult to reach that level and we were nowhere near.

“We were punished and we could have been punished even more. We’re not going to give up. There are five games to go in this league, anything can happen.”

On his team’s title hopes, after seeing their lead cut to two points, and the feeling of must-win in their remaining five games of the season, the Gunners’ boss said; “I don’t know what is going to be required. For sure, we have to lift the players up because they suffered tonight and it was a difficult one to swallow.”

Arteta further told reporters; “We have to lift them up tomorrow, doing everything that we have done so far so well, to win the next match to earn the right to win it. That’s where we have to start”

Interestingly, Wednesday night clearly belonged to Belgian international, Kevin De Bruyne  who scored twice in a dominant performance as John Stones and Erling Haaland also got on the scoresheet in a superb showing from the champions

De Bruyne tore Arsenal apart in the top-of-the-table showdown, paving the way for a likely third successive Premier League title for the Cityzens. After all the excitement about a potential title decider, De Bruyne raced through Arsenal’s midfield and fired City into the lead after only seven minutes.

Arsenal rarely looked like finding a way back, and John Stones’ header before half-time, initially ruled out for offside, tightened City’s grip on the game.

With the victory, Pep Guardiola’s side now looks destined to go on and add another Premier League title to their collection. They have won their last seven Premier League matches in a row and have Erling Haaland scoring goals for fun. The Norwegian broke Mohamed Salah’s Premier League record against Arsenal, netting for the 33rd time in the top flight this season.

Next on line for Arsenal is their Premier League match against faltering Chelsea on Tuesday at the Emirates Stadium while Manchester City have a date away to Fulham on Sunday, April 30, 2023 at Craven Cottage