Manchester City vs Arsenal: Premier League decider at Etihad

LIVE Manchester City vs Arsenal: Premier League decider at Etihad

Imran Otieno 20:40 - 26.04.2023

We bring you up to speed with a minute-by-minute update on Premier League's top-of-the-table clash.

FULL TIME: Manchester City 4-1 Arsenal

  • 90+5' Haaland finally puts the ball in the back of the net after being denied on numerous occasions by Ramsdale this time he slots the ball into the bottom-left corner.
  • 87' Rob Holding puts some respect on the scoreline after pulling one goal back for Arsenal with a strike just on the edge of the box after a lay off from Trossard.
  • 80' Saka hits his free kick with pace but it flies over the bar with Guardiola taking off brace hero De Bruyne for Julian Alvarez.
  • 75' tempers flare on the pitch as Partey and Grealish square it off with each other after the latter bumped into the Ghanaian following a tackle from Bernardo Silva.
  • 70' City controlling the tempo of the encounter as Pep Guardiola takes off Gundogan for Mahrez while Odegaard is replaced with Smith Rowe.
  • 60' Xhaka has a brief moment of madness before Arteta rings the changes replacing him with Jorginho, and withdraws Martinelli for Trossard to add more impetus upfront.
  • 54' De Bruyne puts the game beyond Arsenal with his second as the lethal combination of him and Haaland again comes into play with the league's top scorer rolling the ball to KDB who slots it beyond Ramsdale.
  • 53' Haaland is sent clear down the middle one more time but Ramsdale is again equal to the task with another outstanding save.
  • 50' Manchester City continue to have the lion's share of possession with De Bruyne and Haaland causing problems for Arsenal's backline.
  • 46' Second half underway...
  • HALF TIME: Manchester City 2-0 Arsenal
  • 45+1' De Bruyne whips in an inch-perfect free kick that is met by a well-timed header by John Stones that ripples the back of the net, it is initially flagged for offside but VAR intervenes to ratify the goal.
  • 41' Gundogan finds Haaland with a cutback but his effort is this time saved by the legs of Ramsdale who has kept Arsenal in the game despite his mistake in the opener. 
  • 36' Haaland comes close again after driving straight at Gabriel who turned his back on the ball but the goal machine proves to be human after sending his thunderous effort just wide.
  • 35' Arsenal stringing a number of passes in the game after a torrid start with Partey registering their first attempt on goal but it sails just wide.
  • 28' Arsenal breathe another huge sigh of relief after Haaland gets past Holding and Zinchenko but his low curling effort is saved by Ramsdale before Partey clears the ball out for a corner.
  • 26' Haaland and De Bruyne are wreaking havoc for City, the former Borussia Dortmund forward threads in a neat through ball to the Belgian who turns Thomas Partey but his shot is blocked.
  • 22' Bernardo Silva drives into the Arsenal box from the left channel but his feeble shot is comfortably dealt with by Aaron Ramsdale in goal. 
  • 18' Manchester City dominating possession but look to have taken their foot off the gas after a frenetic start to the game.
  • 11' KDB looks to return the favour to Haaland but this time the Norwegian is not on the same wavelength with the Belgian.
  • 3' Manchester City's penalty shout waved away after Kevin De Bruyne is judged to have kicked Thomas Partey inside the Arsenal box.
  • 1' We are underway at the Etihad Stadium with Arsenal kicking off.
  • Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted that the game is a pressure cooker and also spared time to heap praise on his counterpart.
  • “It is a really, really important game … there are more butterflies than welcome! … everybody knows who we have to face and what we have to do … we will try to impose our game … I was delighted to work with [Arteta] but after that he decided to move to an exceptional club and everyone has seen how good [the team] he has created … I love that we play at home and feel comfortable … the grass is in perfect condition,” said Guardiola in an interview with BT Sport.
  • Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is confident with his troops ahead of the clash and emphasized the need to finish strong.
  • “This is where we have to be, we are Arsenal Football Club and we have to always be at the highest level … we have managed to do that for the last nine months and this is the last push … obviously it is a critical moment … we will see where we are and what we can achieve … we want to play our way and win … you have to be clinical against a team that has the ability to punish you at any moment, but we have that as well … we always give City one or two opportunities to punish us, and it is done, so you have to be incredibly good in every department in every minute to win the game … we have to look at what we have done for the whole season and when we play at our best we can beat any team … at the end it is down to the players … we want to try to win, but after that there is another five games … there is still a long way to go,” said Arteta in an interview with BT Sport.
  • Here is how both teams line up for the clash. Granit Xhaka has overcome a bout of illness and makes the starting XI while Kyle Walker comes in place of Nathan Ake.
  • Both teams have integral defenders missing for the clash with Arsenal having William Saliba out through a back injury while Manchester City's Nathan Ake has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
  • Although a number of games will be left for both sides after the game, the clash has been billed as the Premier League final and will have an effect on where the title will land at the end of the season.