London – A real humiliation that has not been seen since ‘not like us’ was the last act that was missing in the Arsenal case for quantity. Here a swaggering display of superiority of the men of Mikel Arteta against the team that has been their benchmark – through remote, their revival. There may not be enough time for Arsenal to claim Premier League -supremation this season, but have their rival for the count done as this is a sign of the coming greatness.
A celebration should not define such a version, a moment for the crowd that would usually no longer be useful for the final score than the fireworks before the game. And yet, when Myles Lewis-Skelly gained the celebration of Erling Haaland with brutal self-confidence, it was clear that something had changed for Arsenal. There was nothing to fear from their clothes. There was nothing that Manchester City could throw at them with which they could not handle. In an instant they realized that they were much the better team. Focus on the Kendrick.
They had previously defeated the city and they will probably beat City again. Those earlier triumphs, even those brave defeats and the draws that might have been a little more, were markings on the trip to match the champions. Arsenal still looked up to the city, put them as standard. Not anymore. They are now perfectly prepared to clown at the champions. Gabriel will celebrate in the face of Haaland because he is not afraid of the reprisals. The home crowd will be the great man of Serenade City in the most robust conditions.
To get there, all Arsenal had to believe. Arsenal was nothing to write home about a large part of the first hour. The press had caused problems in the back line of the city; Manuel Akanji robbed in possession for Martin Odegaard to score the first, Mateo Kovacic’s Pocket picked before Kai Havertz became wide in what seemed like Arsenal blew it. The backline also held and gave their opponents all the possession they need without standing outside a few opportunities.
In between, not much. Arsenal did not build through possession. They were a bit prepared to sacrifice the area for their box, to lure the long shot and keep the ball away from Haaland.
It was as if she drenched the wrong messages from the last time they had met City. The wild defense of a 2-1 lead by 10 men until death in the Etihad was perhaps the best performance of Arsenal of the season for today. The belief that it has generated in the rear has since occasionally become in the blind. They have often been given a goal for the good and declared from there. If a defense in England can hold such a lead, it is one that is anchored by Gabriel and William Saliba. Yet there is a time when sitting deep is a gamble, even against this approach of the city.
They only had to click once. And they did, Savinho ran from left to right and took the cross from Phil Foden to Haaland to go home. Arsenal had played as they would and would be against last season’s city and one earlier, their defense trust to keep the big guy still at one end and to support himself to take it to another. Not this time. They were just a lot better.
Arteta would insist otherwise. Asked to think about an impressive representation of David Raya, the Arsenal manager was in pain to point out the first half of his goalkeeper. “
Many things have to go your way, and at those moments you have to be very efficient, you need a bit of luck, you need an individual promotion, we all had it today. That is why the result reflects that distance because many things are going our way today. “
That is perhaps the case, but superior staff tends to create their own fortune. That is what Arsenal had today. Whether it is behind his midfield or before, Odegaard could find all the space he needed. Declan Rice had forced his will on Bernardo Silva, whose most important contributions to this game were a series of niggly off-ball challenges. Above all, Lewis-Skelly had approached this match with a total absence of fear.
Every time he takes on a challenge, it was full, the prelude to him who was in danger. Press him and Lewis-Skelly drew a mistake. His ability to do that is remarkable. The top 10 players in the Premier League for errors that are drawn per 90 minutes are, well, the kind that you would expect. Tricky Wingers, Bal-dominant midfielders. Hen and Lewis-Skelly, who is in sixth place with an average of almost three. After he had already closed Haaland and Foden, his tail was gone.
In this way he seemed to say when the ball of Declan Rice came to him. Directly to John Stones, there was only one thing in his head. He immediately went to the goal. “I didn’t expect it,” Arteta joked. “I spoke with one of our employees today that he should threaten more in the last third part when he comes to this position.”
The goal itself was a moment of dizzying talent, as well a first shot as you will see in senior football. The answer from Lewis-Skelly made you wonder if he had waited this day before he let fly. While Tempers flared up in September, the 18-year-old had signed the wrath of Haaland. “Who the F — Are you?” City’s no. 9 seemed to say after a final whistle in which he hurt to tell Arteta to ‘stay humble’.
If Haaland did not know the name of Lewis-Skelly, he does that now. He was the one who meditated after the third of Arsenal.
“He has [tenacity] In him, “said Arteta about his young left behind.” He feels it and he is very good at expressing, and some players struggle with that. He does it in every action, he does it with his body language, he does it with his facial expression, how he lives the game, and then with the ball because he takes it.
“He wants things to happen, he takes risks, he takes initiative, and at his age that is not easy to see.”
He was not the only graduate of Hale End to make things happen. Ethan Nwaneri put an arc on this remarkable triumph with a beautiful bending strike beyond Stefan Ortega. He had come to the field with the air of a young man completely convinced that he would do something as special as Lewis-Skelly.
The faith of the young people was contagious. From 3-1 upstairs, Gabriel cried the ball on every chance he got. He wished himself by the hand. He almost did the ball up for a bicycle kick. Jurrien Timber tried to hire one from no corner in the nearby pole. They all wanted the action. Why shouldn’t they? Who stopped them?
There are levels here. At the moment Manchester City is not that of Arsenal.