(Credit: Imago, Match of the Day)

Evan Shaw

Mon 20 April 2026 6:46, UK

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Arsenal were beaten 2-1 away at Manchester City on Sunday afternoon in what could be a decisive result in the Premier League title race.

Erling Haaland’s clinical second-half finish proved to be the difference between the two teams, after Rayan Cherki and Kai Havertz had previously exchanged first-half efforts.

The result leaves Pep Guardiola’s men within touching distance of Mikel Arteta’s side at the top of the table, and they could potentially leapfrog them at the summit if they win their game in hand.

City have cut the gap between the two contenders drastically in recent weeks, and they are once again showing their experience in the latter stages of the season.

Arsenal’s latest defeat means that they have now won just one of their last six games in all competitions, and the Match of the Day team thought it could have got even worse for them at the Etihad Stadium.

Gabriel ‘lucky to stay on the pitch’ after Erling Haaland clash

Haaland caused problems for the Gunners all afternoon, and he enjoyed a typically fiery battle with Gabriel throughout the encounter, with the tensions between the two spilling over late in the game.

The pair had shared an ongoing jostle throughout the 90 minutes, which culminated with the Arsenal defender fouling the City striker on the halfway line after an aerial battle in the 83rd minute.

Haaland got back to his feet and responded by shoving the Brazilian away from him, which drew an angry reaction from his opponent.

Gabriel walked back and butted heads with his counterpart, before thrusting his head towards Haaland slightly, which could easily have been deemed to be a headbutt.

Referee Anthony Taylor handed both players a yellow card, a decision that was then upheld after a VAR review, but the Match of the Day team all felt that the Arsenal man was fortunate to escape a red card.

“There’s a little bit of handbags, and Gabriel is probably lucky to stay on the pitch here,” Wayne Rooney said during his analysis of the incident.

Danny Murphy then outlined his agreement with his fellow pundit, as he added: “I think they got lucky there. If you wind Haaland up early, it gives him energy and he enjoys the battle.”

Noni Madueke lets Arsenal down in title decider

Noni Madueke struggled to impact the game for Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, despite it arguably being his biggest chance to impress so far this season.

The former Chelsea man has predominantly been the understudy to Bukayo Saka since his move across London last summer, but he has been handed a regular starting berth of late amid his teammate’s injury lay-off.

However, he failed to ever really get into the game during the first half at the Etihad Stadium, and he quickly paid the price for his quiet performance, as Arteta opted to send Gabriel Martinelli on in his place at half-time.

It was a disappointing contribution from the England international, who failed to take his best chance yet to prove that he is capable of challenging Saka for the shirt when he is fully fit.