De Bruyne’s dominant display leads Manchester City to a 4-1 victory over Arsenal: Player ratings

On Wednesday night, Manchester City secured a convincing 4-1 win over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, which puts them in a strong position to clinch their third consecutive Premier League title.

Although Arsenal are still at the top of the table, their lead has been reduced to just two points, and City could take over if they win their two games in hand. Kevin De Bruyne scored two excellent goals, with John Stones adding another in first-half stoppage time to give City a comfortable lead.

Despite Rob Holding scoring a consolation goal for Arsenal, it had little impact on the final result, as Erling Haaland scored City’s fourth goal in stoppage time.

Arsenal had a nervous start to the game, and a poor parry from Aaron Ramsdale led to a collision with De Bruyne, but the referee ruled in Arsenal’s favor. City soon demonstrated their clinical ability, with a long pass finding Haaland, who set up De Bruyne for a stunning goal.

Although Bernardo Silva missed an opportunity to increase City’s lead, Arsenal struggled to create chances until midway through the first half.

However, a last-ditch tackle from Ben White prevented De Bruyne from scoring again. Ramsdale made several saves to keep Arsenal in the game, and they could have been trailing by a larger margin at halftime if not for his efforts.

In the second half, Ramsdale was unable to stop Stones from scoring a goal from a deep De Bruyne free-kick, as the City defender was played onside by Ben White.

Arsenal started the second half brightly, with a long-range shot from Granit Xhaka being saved comfortably by Ederson.

However, City quickly regained control, and Haaland was denied by Ramsdale once again. When Odegaard lost the ball to Haaland, the City forward set up De Bruyne for his second goal of the game. With a comfortable 3-0 lead, City dominated possession and frustrated Arsenal, who made several substitutions in an attempt to change the game.

The movement of Leandro Trossard resulted in Holding scoring a late consolation goal, but Haaland sealed City’s victory by scoring their fourth goal in stoppage time, taking his tally for the season to 49 goals in all competitions.

Arsenal’s questionable defending contributed to City’s convincing three-goal winning margin.

Man City player ratings (4-3-3)

Ederson had a quiet game in goal, earning a 6/10 rating, as he was mostly a spectator.

Kyle Walker was solid at right-back, earning a 7/10 rating, and didn’t allow Arsenal any opportunities. John Stones played a key role in City’s victory, providing the long ball for the first goal and heading in the second, earning an 8/10 rating.

Ruben Dias was defensively strong but received a yellow card for a scuffle with White, earning a 6/10 rating. Manuel Akanji did well at left-back, keeping Saka in check and earned a 7/10 rating.

In midfield, Rodri protected the back four effectively, earning an 8/10 rating, while Ilkay Gundogan led by example and looked for the ball consistently, earning a 7/10 rating as the team captain. Bernardo Silva missed a first-half chance but still played a decent game on the right-wing, earning a 6/10 rating.

Kevin De Bruyne was the standout player of the game, earning a 9/10 rating for his marvellous breakthrough goal early on and his excellent link-up play with Haaland.

De Bruyne played in a high position close to the striker and was a constant threat to Arsenal. Jack Grealish did his defensive duties well on the left-wing, earning a 7/10 rating.

Erling Haaland was a dominant force up front, earning a 9/10 rating, as Arsenal struggled to contain him. He had numerous chances to score but also showed his abilities in the build-up play. Overall, City’s players performed well, with De Bruyne and Haaland standing out as the best performers.

Arsenal player ratings (4-3-3)

Aaron Ramsdale was Arsenal’s best player, earning an 8/10 rating, as the scoreline would have been much worse without his saves.

Ben White made a crucial tackle in the first half but was at fault for the second goal, dropping too deep and playing Stones onside, earning a 4/10 rating.

Rob Holding struggled against Haaland and was at fault for De Bruyne’s third goal, but scored a consolation goal, earning a 4/10 rating.

Gabriel had a poor game and was left behind by De Bruyne for City’s opening goal, earning a 3/10 rating. Oleksandr Zinchenko was one of Arsenal’s better players, earning a 5/10 rating.

In midfield, Martin Odegaard was ineffective and lost possession in a dangerous area for City’s third goal, earning a 4/10 rating as captain.

Thomas Partey was often isolated as the lone holding midfielder, earning a 5/10 rating, while Granit Xhaka’s only notable contribution was getting involved in an altercation and was substituted early, earning a 4/10 rating.

Bukayo Saka had a poor game on the right-wing and was barely involved, earning a 3/10 rating. Gabriel Jesus was starved of service up front and didn’t contribute much, earning a 4/10 rating.

Gabriel Martinelli had minimal impact on the game and struggled to get involved, earning a 3/10 rating.

In summary, Ramsdale was Arsenal’s standout player, but the rest of the team struggled to make an impact, with only a few players performing at a decent level.