Arsenal player ratings vs Man City: The bottle-job is on! Gabriel gets monstered by Erling Haaland as Gunners' grip on Premier League title race evaporates

Arsenal’s title hopes suffered another massive hit as Erling Haaland’s second-half goal settled Sunday’s titanic Premier League title clash in the favour of Manchester City. Haaland struck on 65 minutes to seal a 2-1 win for Pep Guardiola’s side, who will now move to the top of the table should they win their game in hand at Burnley in midweek.

The Gunners have now gone four domestic games without a win in all competitions, exiting both cup competitions in the process as well as handing the title initiative to City. It looked for a long time like they might get a draw that would keep the title race in their hands, though, having cancelled out Rayan Cherki’s superb opener when Kai Havertz pounced to deflect Gianluigi Donnarumma clearance into the net on 18 minutes.

But after Havertz was superbly denied by Donnarumma after the interval and Eberechi Eze curled an effort which came back off the inside of the post, Haaland struck from close range following some fine play by Nico O’Reilly restore City's lead.

Arsenal pushed for a late leveller, and they had a great chance to get one when Leandro Trossard picked out Havertz, but the German sent his header over to leave the visitors dejected.

GOAL rates Arsenal's players from Etihad Stadium...

Goalkeeper & Defence

David Raya (6/10):

One very nervy moment early on when he tried to play out, calm and composed after that and could nothing with either goal.

Cristhian Mosquera (6/10):

Really tough job up against Doku, especially after a first-half booking.

William Saliba (7/10):

Solid at the back. Haaland drifted towards him a lot to escape Gabriel and Saliba coped well.

Gabriel Magalhaes (5/10):

Absorbing battle with Haaland at times, but will be disappointed at getting beat for both goals, first when Cherki avoided his challenge and then when Haaland struck. Perhaps lucky not to get sent off for late clash with Haaland.

Piero Hincapie (7/10):

Produced one fabulous block to deny Semenyo. Mixed game, but kept Semenyo largely quiet.

Midfield

Martin Zubimendi (6/10):

Has looked much more like his usual self in the past couple of games. Looked sharp and busy, especially in the first half.

Declan Rice (6/10):

Worked hard as always but couldn't influence the game as much as he would have liked.

Martin Odegaard (7/10):

He did look rusty at times when on the ball, which is understandable, but just his presence in the central areas and the press was big for Arsenal. Set up a great chance for Havertz in the second half.

Attack

Noni Madueke (5/10):

A typical Madueke performance. He looked threatening at times, but his end product was lacking. O'Reilly and Guehi handled him well. Replaced by Martinelli at half-time.

Kai Havertz (5/10):

Brilliant persistence to close down Donnarumma for the equaliser. Having him up top really gave Arsenal an outlet and improved the press, but he missed two golden second-half chances to swing the game in Arsenal's favour.

Eberechi Eze (6/10):

First time he's started on the left since December. Bit weak in the build-up to Cherki's goal, but showed some nice touches in tight areas. So unlucky when his excellent effort in the second half hit the inside of the post.

Subs & Manager

Gabriel Martinelli (5/10):

Poor second-half cameo. Not good in possession and never really hurt City.

Leandro Trossard (6/10):

Brilliant late cross which should have led to a Havertz equaliser.

Ben White (6/10):

Got on the overlap at times and gave Arsenal a bit more of an outlet down the right.

Viktor Gyokeres (N/A):

On for the last few minutes.

Mikel Arteta (6/10):

His team produced a performance that could, and probably should have got them a result. It was an attacking line up and the display was a big improvement on Bournemouth, but ultimately it was not enough.