Arsenal tear Man City ‘to shreds’ as Citizens reach ‘a new low’ in heavy defeat

Ciaran McCarthy
Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, February 2025
Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta embrace at Manchester City v Arsenal

Gary Neville felt Arsenal tore Manchester City “to shreds” as football broadcaster John Murray suggested the Citizens had reached “a new low” in the pair’s latest meeting.

Arsenal have closed the gap to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League to six points with a victory over Manchester City. The manner of the win was mesmerising, with the Gunners smashing five goals past City, who have been their main rivals for the title in the past two seasons.

Five different players got themselves on the scoresheet for Arsenal, and four of those goals came in an electric second half, with the north London outfit shifting into top gear after City had equalised.

At the end of the game, commentator Neville stated Arsenal “tore them to shreds” for the final 25 minutes of the game.

He continued: “Nwaneri was brilliant since coming in. Stunned. Emphatic from Arsenal.”

Indeed, Nwaneri capped off the victory just before the final whistle with a fantastic curling effort past Stefan Ortega. While there were a lot of positives for the Gunners, the performance also highlights the drop off from City, who have been a juggernaut for Arsenal and others to fear in recent seasons.

BBC Radio 5 Live broadcaster Murray stated the loss “feels like a new low for the defending Premier League champions”.

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After 24 games last season, City were one point clear at the top of the Premier League, on 55 points, and they went on to win the title by just two points, pipping the Gunners to the honour.

At the same stage this season, City are fourth in the league, and on just 41 points – already 14 points back from where they were last term.

They lost to Brighton and Bournemouth back to back earlier in the season, and were then thumped 4-0 by Tottenham the following game, in a poor run which most would see as City’s worst period of the campaign.

But the big loss to Arsenal shows they are not the marauding side who strike fear into the hearts of the Gunners as they have when the two sides have been first and second in the Premier League in the past two terms.

READ MORE: Arsenal 5-1 Man City: Gunners stamp their authority with statement win over champions