Arsenal saw their lead at the top of the Premier League standings cut to two points following a 4-1 defeat against Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s men made the trip to Manchester aiming to get their title charge back on track off the back of three consecutive stalemates.
However, Arsenal could not have made a worse start to the clash as they went behind seven minutes in to a lovely strike from Kevin de Bruyne.
After turning provider for the opener, Haaland came close to getting himself on the scoresheet but for some excellent saves from Aaron Ramsdale.
With the scores level heading into the interval, John Stones got on the end of a De Bruyne delivery to double his side’s lead, thanks in no small part to the intervention of VAR.
Rocked by the concession of a second goal just before the half-time whistle, Arsenal started the second half on the back foot and soon found themselves three down with De Bruyne and Haaland linking up once again to deadly effect as the former grabbed his second of the game.
Having scored in 14 straight matches across all competitions, Arsenal would have fancied themselves to register once again and they did just that four minutes from time through Rob Holding.
On a day when everything was looking so good for City, the only icing on the cake would have been Haaland grabbing his 33rd league goal of the season, which would have seen him break Mohamed Salah’s record for the most Premier League strikes in a 38-game season.
Haaland would indeed grab a well-deserved goal with almost the final kick of the game as he latched on to Phil Foden’s pass to fire beyond Ramsdale at the sixth time of asking.
Down below is a round-up of how the Arsenal players fared on a tough night at the Etihad Stadium
Aaron Ramsdale (6/10) – Quite ironic that Arsenal’s best player on such a horrible night was their goalkeeper, who managed to keep the scoreline somewhat respectable with a string of good saves.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (5/10) – The Ukrainian endured a torrid return to his former side and failed to make a meaningful impact on the game.
Gabriel Magalhaes (4/5/10) – By far his worst game in an Arsenal shirt this season as he was dominated by Haaland from start to finish.
Rob Holding (5.5/10) – Also endured a difficult day at the office against Haaland but he did manage to pull one back for his side with a fine finish beyond the largely untroubled Ederson.
Martin Odegaard (5/10) – A very quiet outing from the Arsenal captain prior to his substitution in the 71st minute.
Granit Xhaka (5.5/10) – Despite being an injury doubt for the contest, Xhaka held his own in the centre of the park, winning four of his five duels, although he was unable to get on the ball as much as he would have liked.
Thomas Partey (5/10) – Came close to finding the back of the net for his side in the first but put up a largely uninspiring performance otherwise.
Gabriel Martinelli (4/10) – A poor display from the winger as he failed to record any shot, key passes or successful dribble before he was hauled off just shy of the hour mark.
Gabriel Jesus (5/10) – Like Zinchenko, Jesus also failed to make a mark against his former team despite showing much industry and desire.
Bukayo Saka (5/10) – After returning to his usual deadly self in attack with a goal and an assist last time out, Saka was sent crashing down to earth against more illustrious opponents as he struggled to impose himself on the clash.
Substitutes
Leandro Trossard (5.5/10) – Came off the bench with half an hour left to play and set up Arsenal’s only goal, although that was just about his only contribution.
Jorginho (5/10) – Tidy in possession as we have come to expect from the midfielder but nothing of consequence to show for it.
Emile Smith Rowe – 4.5/10
Reiss Nelson – 5/10
Edward Nketiah – N/A
