De Bruyne reveals the key tactical change Man City made against Arsenal which flummoxed Arteta

Kevin De Bruyne explained a key tactical shift that helped Manchester City dismantle Arsenal.

City eased past Arsenal 4-1 at the Etihad in a top of the table clash that could decide the fate of the Premier League.

The Gunners entered the encounter five points clear at the Premier League summit, though having played two games more than Pep Guardiola's side.

Despite Arsenal's slight advantage in the table, City, who are reigning champions, took complete control of the match from the opening whistle.

The Manchester club eased to a 4-1 victory, with midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne claiming two goals, an assist and the player of the match award.

City are now on course for the treble, having qualified for both the Champions League semi-final and the FA Cup final. Meanwhile, the title looks to have slipped from Arsenal's grasp.

Kevin De Bruyne on Man City tactics

De Bruyne, explained a key tactical shift that allowed City to defeat Arsenal.

The Belgian international told BT Sport: “When they play man-to-man we have to go a bit longer because there is no space to play short passes.

“In the second half, it was 50/50, they are a very class team and hard to play against. We had to be at our best today and I think we were.

“I think we set up a bit differently rather than with the two 8s, I had a little bit more the freedom to go left and right, who was putting pressure from them between Partey and Xhaka and trying to find space.”

In his post match press conference however, Arteta noted that City had employed a long ball in the reverse fixture, which Guardiola's side won 3-1.

The Arsenal boss said: "They did that in the first game. They win the duel, they run through you. You have to compete and win your duels, we didn’t do basic things. We could have been even more punished.

“The way we were in the first 20 or 30 minutes, we could not handle the situation. We knew they have the capacity to do this, they can stretch the pitch 60 or 70 yards with that goalkeeper."

Topics: Arsenal, Football, Manchester City, Premier League, Kevin De Bruyne, Mikel Arteta

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.