Kevin De Bruyne expertly broke down how Manchester City set up to beat Arsenal after their impressive 4-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.
On Wednesday night, Arsenal arrived in Manchester knowing they needed to win in order to regain the advantage in the race for the Premier League title.
However, City were at the very best as De Bruyne’s fine effort gave Pep Guardiola’s men the lead after just seven minutes.
John Stones doubled City’s lead just before half time before De Bruyne and Haaland sealed a 4-1 win, Rob Holding was the scorer for Arsenal.
Advert
After the match, De Bruyne spoke about the difference in set up by Guardiola in order to get the better of Mikel Arteta’s men.
He told Peacock: “The way that Arsenal press the opposition is top, it's class.
“It's almost impossible to play from the back, especially when its a goal kick - it's like a set piece, and we know we had to play longer today and we tried a couple of things in training.
“I tried to get a little bit deeper and then tried to run off Erling when he kept the ball, and I think we found that a couple of times. I think in the first half we created some chances this way, and it was important to set the tone.”
De Bruyne added: “Normally we play with two number eights and I think he [Guardiola] wanted a little bit more control because of the way they press.
“So Gundo [Ilkay Gundogan] would be a double six and I had to choose more the moments, depending on who presses out of Xhaka and Partey - if Partey was pressing I would try to go on his back and the other way round, and it was difficult for [Rob] Holding and Gabriel.
“[They had to decide] do they have to go with me or are they staying with Erling. I couldn't find the moments in the first half, and obviously, they switched a little bit in the second half, but I was a little more free today.”
As a result of the victory, City are now only two points behind Arsenal in the table and have two games in hand.
Topics: Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne, Arsenal, Football, Premier League
Marcus Chan