Man City vs Arsenal: De Bruyne All but Ends Arsenal’s Title Hopes and the 5 Big Talking Points

• Manchester City hosted Arsenal on Wednesday in a crunch tie which had ramifications on who would win the Premier League title at the end of the season
• A brace from Kevin De Bruyne and solitary strikes from Erling Haaland and John Stones rendered Rob Holding's late goal a consolation for the Gunners
• Following the landslide win, the gap between Arsenal at the top and second-placed City, who have two games in hand, has been reduced to two points

Kevin de Bruyne bagged a brace as Manchester City beat first-placed Arsenal 4-1 on Wednesday night to take control of the Premier League title race.

In a contest that always seemed likely to have a significant impact in deciding who would win the league title, Arsenal proved to be no match for City.

Sports Brief takes a look at the five big talking points from the lopsided affair between the Citizens and the Gunners.

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1. EPL title contenders versus pretenders

It is difficult to fake your way through a 38-game competition, but for what Arsenal churned out on Wednesday evening, they could at best be described as title pretenders, to say the least.

Dubbed the title-deciding encounter, Man City versus Arsenal was rather lopsided. The home side completely dominated the Premier League leaders, who were hoping to end their almost two-decade wait for the title.

For all of their good work this season, the Gunners crumbled at the Etihad Stadium without the home team needing to switch gears, emphatically rehashing their intentions of winning their fifth league crown in seven seasons.

2. Ramsdale reduces Arsenal humiliation

Arsenal were thoroughly outclassed by a ruthless Manchester City side, but the scoreline (4-1 in favour of the Citizens) could have been worse had it not been for the sharp reflexes of Aaron Ramsdale.

Despite shipping in four goals, Arsenal's safest pair of hands was the difference between the North London club and a humiliating scoreline. The 24-year-old made five big saves, including four from the insanely prolific Erling Haaland, per Squawka.

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Ramsdale was by far the Gunners' best player on the pitch as the league title appears to be slipping out of their hands with five games to spare.

3. De Bruyne-Haaland combo too hot

Manchester City's title charge can be attributed to the devastating combo of tormentor-in-chief, De Bruyne and goal-scoring extraordinaire, Haaland.

The pair have been phenomenal for the blue half of Manchester; while Haaland has been dominating the headlines for his prolific goal returns, it was De Bruyne who had a hand in three of City's four goals against Arsenal - scoring two and providing one assist.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian ace also had a hand in three of the goals scored by Pep Guardiola's charges - two assists and a goal.

4. Guardiola schools Arteta

Pep Guardiola rolled up his sleeve to tactically whip his former student, Mikel Arteta as Man City thumped Arsenal 4-1.

The Spanish tactical genius helped the Gunners coach cut his teeth as a fledgling to become one of the most respected upcoming managers in the game in recent times. But when it mattered the most, the former Barcelona coach outfoxed his opposite number in style.

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Indeed, there are levels to the art of coaching and despite the good work done by Arteta this season, it is clear he still needs to learn from his 'master' - Guardiola.

5. Arsenal's too many unforced errors

Three successive draws for Arsenal ahead of their crunch tie with the reigning champions proved to be a bad omen for the Gunners, who struggled all night against a rampant City side.

In all three draws Arteta's charges chalked prior to Wednesday's tie, they were characterised by unforced errors, which reared their ugly head for the umpteenth time for Man City to take full advantage.

Should Arsenal fail to win their first league title since 2004, they could look back and blame their self-implosion for costing them in a massive way.