Manchester City won for the ninth Premier League game in a row courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon.
Kevin de Bruyne opened the scoring for Pep Guardiola's title favourites with a 19th-minute strike into the bottom corner with his weaker left foot.
After an important Ederson save from Aaron Ramsey on the stroke of half time, City doubled their advantage from the penalty spot through Sergio Aguero.
Alexandre Lacazette came off the bench to pull one back for Arsenal, only for City's own substitute Gabriel Jesus to seal victory for the hosts 10 minutes later.
Relive how the action unfolded at Eastlands courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage from the Etihad Stadium, for the second chapter of today's awesome Premier League triple bill as the seemingly unstoppable Manchester City welcome Arsenal, clinging onto their title hopes, to Eastlands. Let's get to the team news...
MAN CITY: Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Stones, Delph; Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Silva; Sterling, Sane, Aguero
Subs: Bravo, Mangala, Gundogan, Bernardo, Jesus, Danilo, Yaya Toure
Subs: Bravo, Mangala, Gundogan, Bernardo, Jesus, Danilo, Yaya Toure
ARSENAL: Cech; Bellerin, Koscielny, Monreal, Kolasinac; Ramsey, Coquelin, Xhaka; Ozil, Iwobi, Sanchez
Subs: Macey, Debuchy, Elneny, Wilshere, Walcott, Lacazette, Giroud
Subs: Macey, Debuchy, Elneny, Wilshere, Walcott, Lacazette, Giroud
Pep Guardiola makes two changes from the team which outgunned Napoli in a Champions League thriller on Wednesday, with captain David Silva and Kyle Walker returning in place of Ilkay Gundogan and Danilo.
Sergio Aguero leads the line on his own, with Gabriel Jesus kept in reserve on the bench. Raheem Sterling, who was linked with a move to Arsenal in the summer, is preferred to Bernardo Silva on the wing.
Defenders Vincent Kompany and Bernard Mendy are the only injury absentees for the hosts, so Fabian Delph continues to deputise at left-back - an area Arsenal may try to target this afternoon.
Arsene Wenger has reshuffled tactically to try to outnumber that incredibly creative City midfield, reverting to four at the back and bringing in Francis Coquelin to solidify the centre of the park.
Coquelin is the only player retained from Thursday's disappointing Europa League stalemate with Red Star Belgrade, but the team shows only two changes from the one which beat Swansea 2-1 in their last Premier League outing. Per Mertesacker drops out and Alexandre Lacazette is sacrificed for Alex Iwobi.
With Arsenal's leading scorer on the bench, there will be greater expectation on Alexis Sanchez to deliver against the club who were desperate to sign him this summer. The Chilean is playing through the middle, with Iwobi and Mesut Ozil, showing signs of life at last, in behind him.
Mertesacker is not included in the Arsenal squad, so may have picked up a knock. However, Saed Kolasinac has shaken off a hip concern to start at left-back, with Nacho Monreal partnering Laurent Koscielny in the centre.
Manchester City's total of 28 points from 10 games is the joint-best start to a Premier League season. The previous two teams to hit this mark - Jose Mourinho's Chelsea in 2005 and Roberto Mancini's City in 2011 - both went on to win the title.
Another record that Guardiola's side could match today is the club best nine straight league wins in a single season, which came back in 1947, but was achieved in the second tier. The aggregate score over their current eight-win run is a staggering 32-5.
Man City's free-flowing football has seen them outscore all of Guardiola's famed Barcelona sides over the opening 10 league games of the season. The Citizens' 35 goals is one higher than what the Messi-Henry-Eto'o strike force managed in 2008-09.
Prior to the start of this weekend, City had actually scored more goals at the Etihad Stadium this season (21) than 18 of their 19 Premier League rivals have managed in total, that is at home and away. Manchester United (23) are the only exception.
Aguero became the leading goalscorer in Man City's history with his goal in the thrilling win at Napoli, surpassing Eric Brook's 77-year record of 177 goals. Aguero's 178 strikes for City have come in only 264 matches - 230 less than Brook played between 1928 and 1940.
He is the only player of the last 35 years to feature in City's top 10 marksman of all time.
The Argentine has been the main man for six years but City have so many goalscorers in the side that Aguero now shares the load with. Leroy Sane is one of them - his strike against West Brom was his third in successive games, and he also has three assists in that time.
The match against the Baggies last week saw a new high set for Premier League passing. The Citizens completed 844 passes in the win at The Hawthorns, which is the most by a team in the Premier League since Opta began recording this data in 2003.
Arsenal (65%) are second only to City (71%) for the highest average possession in the Prem this season. Both of these teams love to have the ball, but Arsenal may have to surrender their philosophy today, be content to sit in and try to hit the hosts on the break.
Much has been said about City's recent form but the Gunners too should be playing with confidence. They have won 10 of their last 12 matches in all competitions, losing just once - away at Watford courtesy of a stoppage-time strike from Tom Cleverley.
Arsene Wenger's boys have responded well to the 'lack of cojones' jibe from Troy Deeney in the aftermath of that Watford defeat - showing the type of character that is often doubted of them to come from behind and win their last two top-flight games.
That same character will be tested to the limit today if City get the first goal today as their recent record against top six teams is not good at all. They have won only two of their last 26 league away matches against the clubs they would consider their main rivals.
RESULT: Tottenham have got away with one against Crystal Palace this lunchtime, winning 1-0 at Wembley thanks to Son Heung-min's strike although it was third-choice goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga who was the man of the match for Spurs on his debut.
Defeat today would be the first time since 1981 that Arsenal would have lost four of their opening six away league matches - their only win coming at Everton last time out. The Gunners collected 14 out of 18 points from their opening six away games last season.
Considering they have a 100% record at home, that away form is the reason why Arsenal are languishing nine points off the pacesetters City. In comparision, at this stage last campaign they had four more points and were second only on goal difference.
Kevin de Bruyne has probably been the standout player in the Premier League this season, but the much-maligned Mesut Ozil has actually created as many goalscoring chances for Arsenal as the Belgian has for Man City (30). All eyes will be on the German playmaker today to see if he can perform in a big game, which is often a question aimed in his direction.
Ten minutes until the big kickoff here. It is a big day in the title race - City could end the day eight clear of United and Spurs, or with only a two-point cushion. Meanwhile for Arsenal, defeat today would likely signal the end of their already slim title hopes. A win, and the Gunners are back in it.
HEAD TO HEAD: Guardiola's City look untouchable at the moment, but if there is one manager who can bring them to a halt it may be Wenger. The Frenchman is the only manager to have beaten Guardiola while he has been in charge of Barcelona, Bayern Munich AND City.
Man City's only win in their last nine meetings with the Gunners came courtesy of last season's 1-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium. They have lost 23 times to Arsenal in Premier League history - only suffering more defeats at the hands of Chelsea (24).
The Citizens have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 10 encounters with Arsenal, who have scored at least twice on eight of those occasions. The visitors will fancy they can get at City's defence, but keeping them out is another task altogether.
PREDICTION: The Sports Mole fan vote gives Man City a 58% chance of victory, and I do fancy the Citizens to win again but the way Arsenal have set up suggests that they aren't going to roll over as they often do in the big games. I'll go 2-1 to City.
KICKOFF: City get the action underway after a perfectly-observed minute's silence ahead of Rememberance Day. The hosts are protecting a 22-game unbeaten run - Arsenal were the last team to beat them in last season's FA Cup semi-final.
CHANCE! Early warning sign for Arsenal as City counter with six players from a Gunners corner. De Bruyne slips in Aguero, whose shot has plenty of power but was always rising high and wide.
Arsenal have actually stuck with the three-at-the-back formation they have used all season, with Coquelin slipping into the centre of the trio. That is a big gamble from Wenger, starting the Frenchman for the first time this campaign, out of position. Arsenal may have been better off packing the midfield.
Iwobi chests down a weak clearing header from Stones but volleys way over the crossbar.
Good football from Arsenal who have started confidently. Bellerin has plenty of choices in the box and tries to pick out Ozil in the centre, but Otamendi is on hand at the near post to clear for a corner.
Sterling embarks on a dangerous dribble into the Arsenal area, through the weak challenge of Xhaka but Monreal comes across on the cover.
Arsenal waste a really promising situation after Ramsey robs Delph of the ball high up the pitch, but Ozil's tame shot rolls wide with Ederson untroubled.
CLOSE! City are within inches of taking the lead as Sane's square ball for Sterling across the six-yard box is just out of reach. Ozil had casually lost the ball in his own half and City countered quickly with Koscielny getting in a mess trying to stay with Sane.
The Gunners started well but have suddenly become quite sloppy in possession, while City are beginning to find their feet on the ball. Silva is finding some time on the ball, which he wouldn't have if Coquelin was playing in his accustomed midfield role.
There is space for Arsenal to get down both flanks. Bellerin looks their best outlet at the minute and Kolasnic, who scored against Swansea last weekend, is also getting forward at every opportunity. The Bosnian just needs to make sure he isn't caught out when City break.
GOAL! MAN CITY 1-0 ARSENAL (KEVIN DE BRUYNE)
De Bruyne opens the scoring for City with a left-footed shot from the left edge of the area, across Cech and into the bottom corner. It is poor defending from Arsenal, who initally gave the ball away through Kolasnic's ambitious pass and then failed to clear after Cech had saved from a previous De Bruyne effort.
Koscielny did not get close enough to the Belgian for his follow-up effort, and questions may be asked of Cech too.
As previously mentioned, Arsenal have won three games from behind already this season - against Watford, Leicester and Swansea. They hailed their character after those results, but this is a proper test of it now, one they have so often failed.
It has been all City since the goal, with Arsenal struggling to keep hold of the ball when it goes up to Alexis.
Sanchez almost releases Ozil but Ederson is quickly off his line before the German can get a shot away. Sanchez may have chosen the wrong pass there, with Ramsey and Bellerin over on his right.
Monreal commits himself high up the pitch and is left for dead by De Bruyne, whose attempt to switch to Sane on the left - the first pass he is always looking for - is foiled by the backtracking Bellerin.
Sanchez is spending most of his time out of the left flank, leaving space for Ozil to run through the middle, but he is neither going to get away from the Man City defence or hold them off. Arsenal could do with a better focal point in attack.
Great pressing from City as De Bruyne pushes Coquelin back to his own goal and forces the Frenchman into a panicked clearance for a throw-in. Coquelin nearly got himself into trouble there.
Lovely move from the hosts as Silva makes an overlapping run to the byline. Silva's cross was begging to be converted from close range but neither Sterling or Aguero had gambled on the quality.
CHANCE! Sterling's end product has come on leaps and bounds under Guardiola, but he gets this horribly wrong - a simple square pass to Sane which surely would have been converted for 2-0 which is badly overhit. Arsenal were completely opened up after Ramsey gave the ball away.
Arsenal are sloppy on the ball again with Xhaka the guilty party this time. Between them, Koscielny and Cech clear Walker's cross but take an ugly bump into each other in the process.
The visitors need to get to half time here with only a one-goal deficit. Although they had scored, City weren't opening Arsenal up too easily in the first 30 minutes, but suddenly the Gunners look very shaky defensively and the league leaders are smelling blood.
Crucial intervention from Kolasinac, who runs 50 yards to keep up with Sane and then executive his slide tackle expertly as City again broke away from another poor Sanchez corner.
Xhaka wraps his foot around the ball to switch it beautifully to Bellerin, who continues to be Arsenal's best attacking option coming forward from right-back. This attack runs out of steam though.
Xhaka attempts a quick free kick which hits the back of Ramsey's head - five yards in front of him. Facepalm.
SAVE! Arsenal engineer their best chance of the half in stoppage time as Ramsey runs beyond Sanchez to collect a pass from the Chilean and squeeze a low shot towards the bottom corner, only for Ederson to make a good reflex save.
HALF TIME: MAN CITY 1-0 ARSENAL
A late scare for City as Ederson bails them out in stoppage time of a first half in which they otherwise kept Arsenal at bay, and slowly began to cut open their visitors, as they have done with every other opponent they have come up against.
Kevin de Bruyne came up with a moment of quality to open the scoring on 19 minutes, although Arsenal could have prevented the goal three or four times in the buildup had their tackling been stronger, or their passing been less adventurous in their own half.
City really should be 2-0 up at the break, had Raheem Sterling kept his composure to play in Leroy Sane with a simple square pass he got badly wrong. As it is, Arsenal are still in this game and this City defence is far from impregnable.
Arsenal have got into the wide areas frequently, but have either lacked a good final ball or a presence in the box to cross to. Olivier Giroud or Alexandre Lacazette would make a difference in place of Alex Iwobi in the second half.
Without one of the two French strikers leading the line, Sanchez has looked a combination of isolated and uninterested. The Chilean would be better off playing in behind, picking up the sort of pockets that De Bruyne does for City.
KICKOFF: Arsenal resume the action, persisting with Coquelin in defence rather than midfield. Lacazette, Giroud and Walcott are all in reserve if the Gunners can hold out for the first 20 minutes.
These two teams aren't that far apart in terms of what they do on the ball, it is off the ball where the differences are stark. City press so quickly and in number, whereas Arsenal don't make it tough enough for the likes of Silva and De Bruyne.
GOAL! MAN CITY 2-0 ARSENAL (SERGIO AGUERO, pen)
The worst possible start to the second half for Arsenal as Monreal bundles into Sterling and gives away a penalty. Aguero steps up and squeezes the spot kick in via the post for his 179th City goal in all competitions.
It is a long way back now for Arsenal, and the more committed they get to attacking then the more vulnerable they are to the likes of Sane, Sterling and Aguero on the break. This makeshift three-man defence looks shaky enough as it is, after a decent opening 20 minutes.
CLOSE! Ederson nearly gifts Arsenal a way back into this game as he lets an Iwobi shot slip through his fingers. He snatches the loose ball before Ramsey unfairly barges him over the line with a blatant foul.
SUBSTITUTION: Wenger abandons the Coquelin experiment and reverts to a back four, with Lacazette coming on to play ahead of Sanchez and Ozil.
YELLOW! A great opening passes Arsenal by as Lacazette overhits his tee up for Ramsey, with Ederson off his line to thwart the Welshman. A frustrated Lacazette is soon booked for pulling back Delph.
Aguero slides a pass through for Sterling but the England international is caught out by Arsenal's high line.
SUBSTITUTION: Aguero is taken off with nearly half an hour to go, with Gabriel Jesus coming on. Not a bad replacement for a leggy Aguero, who played 75 lung-busting minutes in Naples.
The Gunners are enjoying a decent spell at the moment but aren't creating clear-cut chances to score. Kolasinac wastes a promising position when his poor first touch from Sanchez's reverse pass allows Walker to clear.
GOAL! MAN CITY 2-1 ARSENAL (ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE)
There is the clear-cut chance that Arsenal needed, and Lacazette takes it! City are outnumbered at the back and Ramsey spots the run of Lacazette on his outside for the Frenchman to fire through Ederson's legs.
YELLOW! The Gunners have their tails up now and win a corner, but yet again this is only a platform for a City counter-attack. Koscielny takes one for the team by bringing down De Bruyne in his own half.
SAVE! Outstanding save from Cech to scramble across his goalline and keep out a close-range shot from Jesus after Arsenal had inexplicably let a corner reach the Brazilian at the back post.
Again Arsenal have the numbers to get at City's defence but nobody is on the penalty spot to thrash home Kolasinac's cross after Ozil had stepped over the ball, deciding not to shoot himself.
City look just as likely to score here as Arsenal do now. A third would surely kill the Gunners off.
YELLOW! Good refereeing from Michael Oliver has he goes back to an earlier offence to book Otamendi for clattering into the face of Lacazette by the right touchline.
GOAL! MAN CITY 3-1 ARSENAL (GABRIEL JESUS)
Arsenal defenders are praying for offside as Jesus settles this one with a third for City. It is borderline against both De Bruyne and the Brazilian, who knocks home from close range from the Belgian's pass as Arsenal hold their hands up in hope. Xhaka is booked for his protests.
YELLOW! Frustration boils over for Sanchez as he becomes the fifth Gunner booked for going through the back of De Bruyne.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Both managers make changes as Wenger brings on Giroud and Wilshere for Iwobi and Xhaka, while Guardiola sacrifices Sterling for the more defensive Gundogan in midfield.
Things have settled down now after a frantic five minutes following Jesus's goal. Arsenal seem resigned to their fate and City are going hunting for a fourth goal. Only PSG have scored more in Europe's top five leagues.
SUBSTITUTION: Final change for Man City as Sane comes off to be replaced by Bernardo Silva.
Jesus must have been planning his next goal celebration as City broke two on one with De Bruyne on the ball, but the Belgian's pass is unusually poor and picked off by Koscielny.
City are closing this game out with great comfort and there is even the opportunity for a bit of showboating in the centre circle from David Silva. They have passed this test and are looking very difficult to stop heading into the international break.
Petulance starting to show from Arsenal - and a rare sighting of passion from Ozil as he clatters into Delph to take a late booking. Again the German has done nothing in the big game to persuade the Gunners that he is worth the big bucks.
In the third of four minutes of added time, Ozil risks a sending off by barging into Delph, with eyes only for the City player. A red card and suspension is the last thing that Arsenal need with a North London derby on the horizon.
FULL TIME: MAN CITY 3-1 ARSENAL
The Man City juggernaut marches on, with little trouble against an Arsenal side who have dropped below Liverpool to sixth on goal difference and are now 12 points behind Pep Guardiola's side. The Gunners are surely out of the title race, and it doesn't look like anyone else can stop them either.
That's it from the Etihad so, once you've read our match report of the action, switch straight over to our live coverage of Chelsea vs. Manchester United, where all eyes will be on Jose Mourinho to find a reponse to another City win when he travels to his once-beloved Blues. Thanks for joining us today.
Written by
Joe Fish
Joe Fish
