Arsenal dealt major ‘hammer blow’ as Man City point made after Liverpool win

Manchester City closed the gap on Arsenal to six points in the Premier League title race after coming from behind to beat Liverpool on Sunday

Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane believes Manchester City’s dramatic 2-1 victory at Liverpool is a “hammer blow” to Arsenal in the Premier League title race. The Gunners defeated Sunderland 2-0 on Saturday to pile the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s side ahead of their visit to Anfield a day later.

Mikel Arteta’s men moved nine points clear of City and would have fancied their chances of maintaining that advantage. The Blues had only one victory at Liverpool under Guardiola before, with that fixture taking place during the Coronavirus pandemic when no supporters were present in the stadium.

City’s poor record on Merseyside looked set to continue when Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick late in the second half put Arne Slot’s men in front. Liverpool had not lost a top-flight fixture after taking the lead since April 2017 against Crystal Palace.

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But the Reds’ vulnerabilities resurfaced as Bernardo Silva equalised before Alisson gave away a penalty, which Erling Haaland converted. The victory now puts City six points behind Arsenal ahead of the midweek fixtures.

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Mikel Arteta’s side travel to Brentford on Thursday, with City hosting Fulham a day before. Former Manchester United midfielder Keane has raised concerns for Arteta’s men after watching Guardiola’s team come out on top at Liverpool.

He said: “Big lift for City. Their record here is not great.

“Pep said before the game when you come to Anfield you need to show personality and character – and this City team showed it. Particularly in the second half.

“They were very good, in terms of football in the first half. We’ve been critical of this team over the last 18 months because of the standards City have set and this team hasn’t really reached it but today in the second half they showed desire, quality.

“It’s more than three points. Psychologically it’s a big lift – and a bit of a hammer blow for Arsenal. They still have a nice lead but to see City go a goal down, and then for them to get three points, huge.”

Match of the Day analyst Danny Murphy was among those suggesting that a failure by City to secure victory at Liverpool could spell the end of their Premier League title hopes.

The 48-year-old commented: “You have to say, since they [Arsenal] lost to [Manchester] United, they’ve won four on the spin in all comps.

“They’re in the League Cup final, they finished top of the Champions League group, it doesn’t look like a side that’s nervous. They’ve got good competition for places, they can win games when they don’t play very well, they’re the best team at the moment.

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