Arsenal have handed Mikel Arteta his next challenge after finally ending Man City hoodoo

Finally, Arsenal has succeeded. They have finally managed to escape Manchester City’s grip.

The fact that it was a scrappy, hard-fought victory that was hardly a classic won’t matter in the least to Mikel Arteta. The triumph at the Emirates, which put an end to City’s streak of 12 successive Premier League victories over Arsenal, should also break Arsenal’s mental block against the defending champions.

The task now is for Arteta to ensure that this is a turning point for Arsenal because this was more of a statement than a standout performance. The victory must be what gives them the confidence that they can surpass City in the race for the Premier League championship and that they are competent enough.

Gabriel Martinelli entered the game as a halftime substitute, but the game’s deciding goal didn’t come until 86 minutes had passed following a significant Nathan Ake deflection. But at that point, the cacophony was deafening. Pep Guardiola, the manager of City, was incensed when players left the field after the final whistle, and a fight broke out on the touchline.

That is because City is not used to losing, especially in crucial games that determine the title. In particular, not to Arsenal. Amazingly, this is the first time in the Premier League that City has dropped consecutive matches since December 2018.

Due to their reliance on Rodri, it is not a coincidence that both teams were without him. Mateo Kovacic, his replacement, was fortunate to escape punishment for an X-rated challenge on Martin Odegaard.

City simply haven’t reached their best form yet this year, and it’s possible that’s because they lost Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne is out for the long term due to injury, and they lost Ilkay Gundogan in the summer. Arsenal, though, fought hard despite the fact that they were also without a striker.

‌The levels of kidology were such that Saka even turned up with the rest of the Arsenal squad, kit bag under his arm and Arteta tried to fool his old mentor Guardiola into thinking the England winger would make it right up until the last. Arsenal missed him sure enough. They were miles off at the start which says so much about the inferiority complex they have whenever they play City.