The Emirates Stadium were treated to a special afternoon as Arsenal blew Manchester City apart.
After missing out on the Premier League title twice to Man City, the Gunners were hungry for revenge.
Revenge is just what Mikel Arteta’s side achieved, as Arsenal beat Man City 5-1 at the Emirates to earn a statement three points.
Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Kai Havertz scored before the scoreline was added to by Hale End graduates Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, on what was a magical display from the hosts.
Declan Rice was Arsenal’s man of the match against Man City
Each goalscorer deserved to be on the scoresheet, with the headlines undoubtedly belonging to the two teenagers Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly.
Lewis-Skelly copied Erling Haaland’s celebration to rub salt into the Norweigan’s wounds however, it wasn’t only the goalscorers who impressed against the champions.
Behind the magic was Declan Rice, who ran the show in midfield, rising to the top as the cog that powered Arsenal’s win over City.
| Declan Rice vs Man City |
| 51 touches |
| 88% passes completed |
| 5 key passes |
| 100% dribbles completed |
| 100% ground duels won |
| 2 clearances |
| 2 interceptions |
| 2 assists |
Rice is Arsenal’s very own midfield general, making the £105m to acquire him look like a bargain week after week.
Just as he did against Wolves, Rice was a silent assassin, being the pioneer behind City’s collapse at the Emirates, as his numbers portray.
From duel wins to key passes, there were very few better than Rice on the pitch, with his record-breaking price tag proving that you certainly get what you pay for.
What Rice said about his performance against Man City
Rice was phenomenal against City but, it was hardly anything away from the norm from the midfielder, who is going from strength to strength at Arsenal.
Even after his glistening display at the Emirates, the England international took Haaland’s advice and remained humble, admitting that he needs to keep working on the attacking area of his game.
“To get the two [assists] in the second half, especially the last one, don’t think a lot of people think I have that in my locker. Five seconds before I knew I was going to play the ball out to Ethan, even before Gabi sent me the ball so, to get two assists was really big.
“I need to keep adding goals and assists to my game if I’m going to keep playing the number eight role.”
It was another top performance from Rice, who is repaying every penny Arsenal spent on him in the summer of 2023.
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