Man City Beat Arsenal, Premier League Title Race Tightens Again

JAKARTA - Striker Erling Haaland saved Manchester City and made the English Premier League title race tighter after defeating Arsenal 2-1 in a big match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Sunday, April 19, 2026 WIB.

Arsenal actually breathed a sigh of relief when Kai Havertz managed to equalize the score to 1-1. Only, Arsenal was unable to maintain the draw because Haaland finally broke the deadlock and brought Man City back to the lead after breaking David Raya's goal.

After the goal, Arsenal even had trouble and had to close the match with a defeat. The bad result at the Etihad not only cut Arsenal's points gap. Now Man City with 67 points is getting closer to Arsenal who is still perched at the top of the standings. However, the Gunners are only three points ahead. Meanwhile, Man City still has one postponed match.

This makes Arsenal more wary. A failure scenario like the 2023 and 2024 seasons could be repeated. At that time, Arsenal always led the standings. But in the last moments, Man City always managed to overtake Arsenal and then become champions.

And it always starts with Arsenal's defeat at the Etihad. Coincidentally, Man City often gets a good schedule by hosting Arsenal when entering crucial weeks.

The defeat in the big and decisive match also confirmed that Arsenal lost momentum. The mentality of a winner was just erased and they only won once in the last six matches in various competitions.

Since failing in the English League Cup final and coincidentally losing to Man City 2-0, the team under Mikel Arteta has declined. In fact, they have suffered four defeats in the domestic competition. In the FA Cup, Arsenal ironically eliminated the team from the Championship alias Division Two, Southampton, which added to the pain of Martin Odegaard et al.

If they fail to bounce back, Arsenal's hopes of ending a 22-year Premier League title drought will be extinguished again. Yes, Arsenal last won the English League in 2004 when they were still managed by Arsene Wenger.

At that time, Man City was still unheard of and almost relegated. Man City was nothing more than a team that always struggled at the bottom before the arrival of the king of oil from the Middle East who made the club dominate the Premier League in the last decade.

Now, Man City is on top despite still occupying the second position. However, Arteta remains optimistic about being able to end Arsenal's league title drought.

"I still believe. In fact, since last Wednesday I still believe. Since last week, I have watched how their daily lives [the players]. And I know our level of play," said Arteta as quoted by france24.

"If they need more convincing, I think they are actually more confident and confident. This was revealed when we talked to each other in the locker room," he said when responding to the atmosphere of the Arsenal locker room after the defeat.

"It's like a new league starts. We are still three points ahead and they have one game in hand. Everything is still open. We know how much we want and we will not stop," Arteta said again.

Arsenal themselves still have five more matches in the Premier League competition. However, they also still have to compete in the Champions League. Arsenal is the only Premier League team still in the running and will face Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Man City manager Pep Guardiola stated that the battle in the competition was not over. Arsenal is also still leading so that Man City cannot confirm that they will win the league. Including when defeating Burnley in the middle of this week, Man City still can't overtake Arsenal because they lost by a goal difference.

"We are said to be champions, but what is the reality? Who is currently in the top position? Not us of course. Who has a better goal difference?" said Guardiola.

"So we are focusing on step by step. Of course this result opens up our hope to compete for the league title," he said.

In that match, Man City and Arsenal both attacked. After each threatening each other, Man City finally took the lead.

This time the midfielder Rayan Cherki who broke David Raya's goal in the 16th minute. Receiving the ball from Matheus Nunes, he then acted solo run past the Arsenal players before shooting into the goal.

However, the Cityzens' 1-0 advantage did not last long. Only two minutes later, Havertz managed to take advantage of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma's blunder. Receiving a backpass, Donnarumma failed to clear the ball because he was immediately intercepted by Havertz who immediately shot into the goal.

The score changed 1-1. The match got hotter as both teams continued to play openly. There was no goal until the first half ended.

Entering the second half, the game between Man City and Arsenal was unchanged. They alternately put pressure.

Arsenal actually had the opportunity to add a goal if Eberechi Eze's shot did not hit the crossbar. On the other hand, Man City finally regained the lead after Haaland greeted the ball from Nico O'Reilly to break Arsenal's goal in the 65th minute.

Score 2-1 for Man City. Arsenal refused to give up. They still tried to catch up. The North London club's attack almost bore fruit.

Gabriel Magalhaes got a good chance, but his header which hit O'Reilly instead hit the crossbar. The ball rebounded which was immediately greeted by Havertz. However, he also failed to finish it so the score remained unchanged. Until the final whistle sounded the score remained 2-1 for Man City.