Man City 2-1 Arsenal: The winners and losers from Premier League title battle

The Premier League title race has taken another tantalising twist following Manchester City’s 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

Rayan Cherki’s early opener was cancelled out just 107 seconds later, after Gianluigi Donnarumma gifted Kai Havertz a bizarre equaliser, but Erling Haaland had the last laugh by powering home the match-winner midway through the second half.

Victory for Pep Guardiola’s charges has seen them move to within three points of Mikel Arteta’s wounded side at the top of the table, setting up a thrilling finale in the race for the title.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at the winners and losers from an epic Etihad Stadium contest.

WINNERS – MAN CITY

Of course, the big winners of Sunday’s showdown were Man City, who knew that they needed to claim maximum points to stay alive in the title race and put their destiny back in their own hands.

Almost a month on from beating the Gunners in the EFL Cup final at Wembley, the Citizens held their nerve to overcome their trickiest test, on paper, against a team they had failed to beat in their previous six league meetings (D3 L3).

Man City have now amassed 30 wins and three draws across their last 33 league games in April - a remarkable feat that showcases why they are once again the familiar, unstoppable force breathing down the necks of their faltering rivals.

Guardiola’s men know that victory in their game in hand at home against Crystal Palace - yet to be rescheduled - will move them level on points with leaders Arsenal, and one stumble from either side could prove to be a fatal blow in their quest for top-flight glory.

WINNER – RAYAN CHERKI

Rayan Cherki has been a standout performer for Man City in recent weeks; he produced another impressive display in the final third against Arsenal, acting as Guardiola’s chief creator while also posing an invaluable goal threat.

After seeing a deflected effort hit the post in the fourth minutes, Cherki bamboozled Gabriel Magalhaes as he danced into the penalty box before caressing a smart finish into the bottom corner to give City the lead.

The Frenchman brushed past Arsenal players like they were not even then, and his calm, elegant display was a joy to watch in such a frantic top-of-the-table battle.

He has also become the first player of a Premier League club to reach 10+ goals and 10+ assists in all competitions this season – impressive for a debut campaign at the Etihad.

WINNER – BERNARDO SILVA

Just a few days after confirming his departure from Man City at the end of the season, captain Bernardo Silva delivered an 'above-and-beyond' performance against Arsenal descried as a "masterclass" in midfield by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.

Unsurprisingly, the tireless midfielder never stopped running on the Etihad turf and notably made several key defensive contributions to keep Arsenal quiet.

Bernardo made 16 passes into the final third, won five duels, won possession four times, made three tackles and produced a vital interception to deny Kai Havertz running clean through on goal in the second half.

Guardiola was asked to share his thoughts on Bernardo and his performance after the match, and he replied: “If I talk a lot, I will cry.”

WINNER – KAI HAVERTZ

Although he did not end up on the winning side, Kai Havertz repaid the faith placed in him by Mikel Arteta by scoring his first Premier League goals since February 2025, when Arsenal thrashed Man City 5-1 at the Emirates last season.

Arsenal pressed well against Man City in the first half and Havertz deserves credit for closing down Gianluigi Donnarumma and forcing the goalkeeper into making a mistake, before stretching his foot out to deflect his attempted clearance into the net.

Havertz also held the ball up well during battles with Abdukodir Khusanov and made his mark as a centre-forward, as Viktor Gyokeres watched on as a substitute before joining the German in the second half.

LOSERS - ARSENAL

For the first time this season, Arsenal are reeling from back-to-back Premier League defeats, with their loss at Man City coming eight days after they were surprisingly, but deservedly, beaten 2-1 at home to Bournemouth.

The Gunners should theoretically have this title race wrapped up by now, but 10 points have been dropped across their last eight league matches (W4 D2 L2) and their position at the Premier League summit has never looked more precarious than it does now.

There is still a fair amount of time for things to chance at the top of the table, but this unwanted ‘bottlers’ label will remain firmly strapped to Arsenal until they can prove they have the steel to finally cross the finish line and lift their first Premier League trophy since 2004.

LOSER – MIKEL ARTETA

Man City remain Mikel Arteta’s kryptonite and the Spaniard’s win ratio as a manager against the Citizens has fallen to 23.5% (four wins in 17 games) following Sunday’s painful defeat.

Once again, Arteta failed to deliver the big result Arsenal needed when it mattered, and question marks will be raised again over whether he can genuinely lead this Gunners side to top-flight glory.

After more than 200 days at the top of the table, Arsenal are now in danger of falling behind Man City and enduring a fourth successive second-placed finish under Arteta, who is yet to prove that he is a true trophy winner.

Arteta is arguably under more pressure than ever since taking the reins in North London six years ago. Failure to turn the club’s fortunes around - one win in six across all competitions including four straight domestic defeats - could spell trouble for his future if the title does eventually slips away.

LOSER – CRISTHIAN MOSQUERA

Favoured over Ben White at right-back in the absence of first-choice Jurrien Timber, Cristhian Mosquera experienced a difficult afternoon up against tricky Man City winger Jeremy Doku.

The 21-year-old struggled to cope with Doku’s elite dribbling ability, pace and skill down Man City’s left flank, and he was booked towards the end of the first half for persistent fouling.

Arteta will have a big decision to make over whether to stick with Mosquera, naturally a central defender, or recall White for Arsenal’s next Premier League game against Newcastle United, who may have Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes or Anthony Elanga operating on the left wing next weekend.

LOSER – GABRIEL MAGALHAES

Aside from his crucial block that deflected Cherki’s fourth-minute effort onto the post, Gabriel endured an afternoon to forget at the Etihad.

Having previously coped well in duels with Erling Haaland, the Brazilian lost the battle with Man City’s No.9 on Sunday and was beaten to the ball at the back post when the Norwegian fired home the hosts' match-winner.

A moment of madness from Gabriel towards the end of the match nearly cost Arsenal dearly; the defender was lucky to receive only a yellow card after throwing his head at Haaland during a heated tussle. By avoiding a straight red, he escapes a three-game suspension that would have been devastating during this crucial run-in.