Manchester City extended their winning run across all competitions to 18 matches with a narrow 1-0 triumph over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Raheem Sterling headed in the only goal of the game inside the opening two minutes of the match, and City were comfortably able to keep Arsenal at bay despite some rare opportunities for the hosts, who never stopped believing against the runaway league leaders.
Pep Guardiola's men equalled their club winning record of 11 consecutive away victories with their narrow triumph in the capital, while Arsenal failed to score against an opponent four times in a row at home in the league for the first time ever.
City cemented their position at the top of the Premier League table - 10 points clear of second-placed Leicester City - while Mikel Arteta's men remain 10th after Guardiola outsmarted his former student once again.
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It took Manchester City under 90 seconds to draw first blood at the Emirates Stadium, with Ruben Dias's delightful pass finding Riyad Mahrez out on the left-hand side. The Algerian winger chipped a cross into the area which found the head of Raheem Sterling, who beat Rob Holding to nod home past a stranded Bernd Leno.
City were simply toying with Arsenal in the opening exchanges and Sterling could have easily doubled his tally on the five-minute mark, but he was crowded out before being able to get a shot away inside the area, while the returning Kevin De Bruyne showed his rustiness with an uncharacteristically tame effort from the edge of Arsenal's box following a corner.
Arsenal's desire to win the ball back and press their opponents was certainly questionable, and while City looked threatening every time they surged up the pitch, their attacks lacked any real bite. It took Arsenal 18 minutes to have their first shot, as Kieran Tierney found Bukayo Saka in the area, but his effort was blocked by an offside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Guardiola's side enjoyed 70% of the ball in the first quarter of the game, but besides Sterling's winner and De Bruyne's off-target effort inside the first 10 minutes, Leno was relatively untroubled in the Arsenal goal as the half went on.
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Unsurprisingly, Tierney was the one trying to make things happen for Arteta's men down the left-hand side, and he stung the palms of Ederson with a thunderous long-range effort on the 30-minute mark, and an immediate foray forwards from City after ultimately came to nothing.
The Scottish left-back was once again integral to Arsenal's relatively tame attacking play, but his pinpoint cross found Martin Odegaard at the far post on the 36th minute, but the Real Madrid loanee was unable to control the ball and it rolled harmlessly out for a goal kick.
Nicolas Pepe cut a frustrated figure on the right wing for the majority of the first half, and he spurned a terrific opportunity in the 44th minute after being picked out by Rob Holding, as the Ivorian's attempted pass to Hector Bellerin came back out onto his favoured left-foot, but his weak effort rolled wide of Ederson's near post.
Arteta had cause for optimism as his side ended the second half looking the more threatening, but Aubameyang - who had struck three times against Leeds United the weekend before - was lacking any real service and City, as expected, were comfortably winning in North London once again.
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As John Moss blew the whistle for the start of the second half, there was an immediate opportunity for City as Oleksandr Zinchenko was picked out by Sterling, but his effort was always rising. The Ukrainian was at the heart of another City move one minute later, as he sets up De Bruyne for a chipped effort which went just wide.
Back in the team after a minor setback, Ilkay Gundogan attempted to add to his magnificent tally with a shot from outside the area in the 56th minute, but his compatriot Leno managed to tip it wide before De Bruyne lashed a volley over from the resulting corner.
Guardiola was not sitting so comfortably in his seat as Arsenal's belief started to grow approaching the hour mark, but as was the case for the majority of the first half, Arteta's attacking crop were lacking a clinical edge. Tempers started to flare as Bernardo Silva, Granit Xhaka and Joao Cancelo all went into the book before the 65th minute.
By the 70th minute, City had started to treat the match like a training ground exercise. The Gunners did not commit to the press and their only half chance came courtesy of an Odegaard free kick, but his looping delivery evaded everyone before bouncing through to Ederson.
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Usually so composed at the back, Joao Cancelo's attempted clearance looped back towards Ederson in the 73rd minute, and the Brazilian goalkeeper sliced at the ball before Mohamed Elneny's speculative effort went wide of the mark, but Arsenal were certainly not out of the game just yet.
Arteta introduced Emile Smith Rowe and Alexandre Lacazette as the hosts attempted to make their rare forays forward count for something, with Nicolas Pepe and Martin Odegaard sacrificed. Lacazette's introduction saw Aubameyang move out to the left, and it nearly paid dividends as he found Saka in the 76th minute, but the teenager slipped before he could get a shot away.
The Arsenal manager was urging his team to press high up the pitch, and that nearly proved costly in the 80th minute. City broke down the right-hand side and substitute Gabriel Jesus found Cancelo inside the area, but his outside-of-the-boot effort curled just wide of the post as City spurned a brilliant chance to wrap up the three points.
Arsenal's futile attempts to get back into the game were halted as David Luiz was introduced as a concussion substitute for Rob Holding, and while Aubameyang was able to dash down the left wing in the 84th minute, the resolute John Stones easily out-muscled the Gunners captain to ensure that City held on to their lead.
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Periods of Arsenal possession ultimately counted for nought in the dying embers of the match as City's defence stood firm, and the champions took yet another giant stride towards the Premier League title.
Guardiola has now got the better of Arteta three times this season following 1-0 and 4-1 victories in the Premier League and EFL Cup respectively, while Arsenal have now lost eight times on the trot against the Manchester giants in the top flight, although they were not swept aside by any means on Sunday evening.
Both teams now turn their attention to European competition, with Arsenal facing a trip to Athens for their Europa League last-32 second leg against Benfica, while Man City face off against Borussia Monchengladbach in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday evening.
ARSENAL: Leno; Bellerin, Holding (Luiz 82'), Mari, Tierney; Xhaka, Elneny (Ceballos 86'); Pepe (Smith Rowe 73'), Odegaard (Lacazette 73'), Saka; Aubameyang
MANCHESTER CITY: Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko; Fernandinho, Gundogan, Silva; Mahrez, De Bruyne (Jesus 63'), Sterling
Ben Knapton
