Manchester City emphatically defeated Arsenal 4-1 on Wednesday night in a match that gives the Citizens a major advantage in this season's Premier League title race.
The north London outfit went into the match at the Etihad Stadium five points clear of City in second, although the hosts have two games in hand on their title rivals. But the Gunners' hopes of winning the league look far less likely after Pep Guardiola's side dominated them from start to finish, with goals from John Stones, Erling Haaland and a Kevin De Bruyne brace making Rob Holding's consolation finish fairly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
City created much more meaningful opportunities than the visitors, who struggled in the build-up phase when pressed by Haaland, De Bruyne and Co. After the match, De Bruyne spoke about how Guardiola's decision to play a double pivot instead of utilising Rodri as a lone six helped give his side a numerical advantage in midfield whilst also allowing the Belgian international to thrive in dangerous areas.
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"The way that Arsenal press the opposition is top, it's class," he told Peacock, via the Mirror. "It's almost impossible to play from the back, especially when its a goal kick - it's like a set piece, and we know we had to play longer today and we tried a couple of things in training.
"I tried to get a little bit deeper and then tried to run off Erling when he kept the ball, and I think we found that a couple of times. I think in the first half we created some chances this way, and it was important to set the tone.
"Normally we play with two number eights and I think he [Guardiola] wanted a little bit more control because of the way they press. So Gundo [Ilkay Gundogan] would be a double six and I had to choose more the moments, depending on who presses out of [Granit] Xhaka and [Thomas] Partey - if Partey was pressing I would try to go on his back and the other way round, and it was difficult for [Rob] Holding and Gabriel.
"[They had to decide] do they have to go with me or are they staying with Erling. I couldn't find the moments in the first half, and obviously they switched a little bit in the second half, but I was a little more free today."
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