Two winners and four losers as Arsenal lose to Manchester City in supposed title decider

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Arsenal’s trip to the Etihad was billed as a title decider, and, once again, Arsenal failed to deliver.

The Gunners lost 2-1 on a sunny Manchester afternoon against Pep Guardiola’s side, and now, it does feel like a desperate situation given the club’s recent form.

The defeat is devastating, but it wasn’t a bad performance by Arsenal on the day, it has to be said.

With that in mind, we’ve listed who we believe to be the winners and losers from this match.

Winners

Kai Havertz

First Premier League goal in over 12 months, and what a stage to step up on.

The German worked his socks off for his team here, he pressed hard, held the ball up brilliantly and caused problems for the City defence.

Havertz has been questioned a lot in recent times, but he made his mark here.

David Raya

Wasn’t necessarily brilliant today, but may well have won the debate around being the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.

Gianluigi Donarumma’s big mistake made Raya look even more reliably between the sticks for Arsenal, and a goalkeeper of that stature is worth their weight in gold.

Losers

Gabriel Magalhaes

Difficult game for the Brazilian. Seemed desperate rather than effective from set-pieces, lost his battle with Erling Haaland – ripping the Norwegian’s shirt at one point, while Rayan Cherki skated through him for the opening goal.

Very lucky not to be sent off for what seemed to be a headbutt on Erling Haaland too.

Viktor Gyokeres

Left on the bench for Kai Havertz and that decision was justified.

Havertz led the line and led the press brilliantly here, and his efforts were rewarded with an incredibly scrappy goal – a goal it’s hard to imagine Gyokeres working for.

Difficult to see how Gyokeres gets his spot in the starting XI back.

Cristhian Mosquera

Didn’t have an easy afternoon up against Jeremy Doku, found himself struggling to cope with Doku’s incredible dribbling ability.

Ben White didn’t do enough to nail down a starting spot at right-back either, so Jurrien Timber’s return can’t come quickly enough.

Mikel Arteta

Once again failed to get the big result when it mattered.

Mikel Arteta has taken Arsenal a long, long way in recent years, but now there is a question around whether or not he can take the Gunners any further.

Arteta is yet to prove he’s a winner, and after so many years of being second-best, it may be time for questions to be asked.