Gooner, Gunner, Gone

In the most important match of the season; it was Manchester City who came up big with an all-conquering 4-1 victory over fellow title-chasers Arsenal. What promised to be a climactic event turned out to be a non-starter; as Mikel Arteta's men simply had no answer to the the tidal Blue wave of Josep Guardiola's charges.

Arsenal; for so long the title favorite this season; played the absolute wrong strategy: opting to sit deep and soak City's attack and hoping to hit on the counter; but in the process only allowing City to dominate and play as they like. Worse still; City's energetic press afforded no time for Arsenal to play out from the back; thus leading to almost no chances created by the visitors as they lost any ideas upfront.

By relinquishing the possession stakes; Arsenal thus failed to do what they have done all season: allow their incisive passing (especially down the middle) to create chances and tear the opposition apart. In short; they did everything they shouldn't have done. Overall; they looked like a team nervously playing for a title they knew was out of hand; while City looked like a team playing like it was theirs. Game over