Arteta & Ødegaard deliver verdict on Arsenal’s 5-1 thrashing of Man City | OneFootball

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Arsenal delivered a ruthless statement at the Emirates, dismantling Manchester City in style.

A rapid start, clinical finishing, and standout performances from Hale End youngsters ensured their unbeaten league run continued in dominant fashion.

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Arsenal crushed Manchester City 5-1 at the Emirates with a dominant display, extending their unbeaten Premier League run to 14 games.

Martin Ødegaard fired Arsenal ahead just 103 seconds in after a defensive mistake from Manuel Akanji. City equalised early in the second half through Erling Haaland’s powerful header, but Arsenal responded immediately.

Thomas Partey’s deflected strike restored the lead before 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly marked his first senior goal with a superb finish.

Kai Havertz made it 4-1, finishing a slick counter-attack after Gabriel Martinelli’s assist.

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In stoppage time, substitute Ethan Nwaneri capped the victory with a precise left-footed strike inside the post.

Odegaard, speaking to Sky Sports after the game, said: ” Yeah, it was a tough game, tough performance. And yeah, with the fans, the atmosphere and the scoresheet like that, it can’t be better, so very happy.

On Kai Havertz, the captain said: “Massive impact again today.

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“You know, you see everything he does. The score again, assists, he’s always there. You know, with and without the ball, massive impact. So, yeah, top player. So, yeah, good to have him on the team.

“We have a good connection and we understand each other. He’s an intelligent player and it is good to play with him. I think we have a great connection, everyone. And we know each other so well now. Yeah, you can really see that on the pitch.”

Declan Rice, meanwhile, told Sky Sports, “I think this is a thing that’s been building up over a certain amount of time.

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“They nicked the title off Arsenal the year I wasn’t here and then last year they beat us to the title.

“It’s been hard to accept that and then obviously with everything that went on at the Etihad at the start of the season, you do have that fire in the stomach, you want to come out here in your home stadium and try and amend that, and in the end we did. We’ve got to keep pushing because we’re still a couple of points off the top and that’s where we want to be.”

“Yeah, it’s a great day for us, obviously, especially with the necessity that we had to win the game to sustain the pressure up there,” Mikel Arteta said. “And the manner that we’ve done it, really, really pleased.

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“You need everything in these games, the moment that we were very dominant, the moment that we had to suffer and be deep, the moment that we needed a bit of luck, and we had it, but overall, obviously, a very happy day.

“You’re going to suffer in periods of the game, you know that. And we did it when we had to do it, again, with a bit of luck, in the right moments. And then we had the opportunity to win the game and be ruthless.

The emphatic win keeps Arsenal six points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Next, they travel to Newcastle for the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, needing to overturn a 2-0 deficit before facing Leicester in the league on 15 February.