Arsenal fell to a miserable defeat last night, as Mikel Arteta was helpless as he watched his side outclassed by Manchester City by four goals to one. It was a Pep Guardiola masterclass, where the teacher truly took the student to school.
In what was a must-win game for the visitors, having failed to win in any of their last three Premier League games, the Gunners travelled to the Etihad knowing that three points were all it would take to set them back on track.
However, given the imperious form of the hosts, the result already seemed a foregone conclusion.
The Citizens were rampant, enjoying nine shots on target and scoring four well-worked goals. Even after just 54 minutes the game was over, with Kevin De Bruyne at the heart of this massacre that spurred them into the 3-0 lead.
Rob Holding offered a sliver of hope, but his goal proved nothing more than a consolation before Erling Haaland shattered the 38-game season scoring record with his 33rd league goal of the campaign.
On a night where history could have been made regarding the title, the Norway international's insane achievement was somewhat overshadowed by the pure dominance of this truly sensational footballing side.
Arsenal were left powerless to stop the relentless and mighty Man City, who grossly overwhelmed their visitors.
Whilst many might assume this left Holding as the weak link, who was ruthlessly tossed aside by Haaland for the opener and caught out of position all too frequently, it was in fact his partner Gabriel Magalhaes who truly failed to stand up to this mammoth occasion.
How did Gabriel play vs Manchester City?
Starting his 33rd consecutive league game, having appeared in every league outing this season, the Brazilian had shown signs of frailty given the absence of his usual partner in William Saliba. However, it was expected that if anyone was to be upstaged by Haaland it would be his new partner.
Despite this, the 25-year-old defender struggled throughout to quell any of the numerous threats posed by their hosts, who simply could not be stopped. As such, his 5.9 rating was only worsened by his teammate Ben White of anyone on the pitch, whilst Holding's 7.0 rating gave way to his goal, two clearances, two tackles and a 91% pass accuracy, via Sofascore.
The former Lille titan's figure was upheld by a string of underwhelming statistics that outline the true underperformance of the £50k-per-week star. He would record just one clearance as his sole defensive interaction all game, with the centre-back winning two of the six duels competed in.
Not only this, but Gabriel's lack of build-up from the back thwarted Arteta's outfit too, as his 83% pass accuracy and 68 touches marked a downturn from his average of 90% and 74.5 per game across the campaign.
This kind of disappointment had been predicted by former Premier League player Nigel Reo-Coker, who claimed: "Play on Gabriel. He is going to make a mistake, he is going to do something that will give you an opportunity. He will always make a mistake in 90 minutes or let someone in. Gabriel is still too rash, doesn’t play at a calm level, he’s still too emotionally involved every game he plays in.”
With the ex-West Ham United midfielder having now been proven right, and with the title firmly out of the Gunners' grasp given the two-point advantage of their rivals having played two fewer games, it seems this coveted piece of silverware is once again destined to return to Manchester as they seek a remarkable treble.
