Furious John Stones SLAMS Man City’s ‘unacceptable’ performance in last 30 minutes of 5-1 thrashing by Arsenal – as defender apologises for manner of defeat

John Stones has made a grovelling apology to his supporters after a capitulant Manchester City side were thrashed by Arsenal in a statement victory for Mikel Arteta.

Having conceded early on thanks a sloppy error at the back, City thought they had clawed their way back into the contest when Erling Haaland equalised after half-time.

However, Arsenal took less than a minute later to go up the other end and retake the lead, with Thomas Partey‘s shot taking a massive deflection off Stones to beat Stefan Ortega.

The Gunners went on to score three more in a disastrous final half an hour for City, condemning them to a 5-1 defeat that acts to surely extinguish any lasting hope that Pep Guardiola can make up ground in the title race.

‘It’s difficult – all of us don’t taking losing well,’ Stones said. ‘It’s hard for me to put into words actually straight after a game like that. 

‘Sorry to the fans that travelled. To watch that and how we played in the last 30 minutes is not acceptable. It’s not us, it’s not nice to be involved in that when it’s not your team or yourself in those situations. 

The Gunners made a statement with an emphatic victory over their former title rivals

John Stones has hit out at his team’s performance after capitulating in the final half an hour

‘Give credit to Arsenal, this is not an easy place to come to and they played really well against us. 

‘I thought for 60-65 minutes we played some great football at times. We were in the game, it was a swinging point but it was swung the wrong way for us. I’m angry and upset, personally and collectively for so many reasons.’

Arsenal were in dreamland for the last 30 minutes of the clash, with Hale End products Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri among those to get on the scoresheet as City fell apart.

Two teams that have been tightly matched at the top of the Premier League in recent years, the sides looked worlds apart on the Emirates turf on today, indicative of the Citizens’ seismic dropoff this term.

While three points for Arsenal acts to keep them within a manageable distance of runaway leaders Liverpool, defeat for City leaves them a gargantuan 15 points off the Premier League pinnacle – a position they have reigned supreme over for the better part of a decade.

But despite looking certain to miss out on the Premier League title for the first time in five years, Stones denies that City’s era of dominance is simply coming to an end – and insists that they will bounce back.

‘I wouldn’t say it’s coming to an end,’ he added. ‘I think it’s a lot of different things that I haven’t figured out. Why we’re not picking up the results that we have done in previous seasons, why it’s not clicked. 

‘The passion’s there, the heart’s there in training, everyone’s got the right intentions which is one of the most important things. We haven’t got to where we are without difficult times. 

Thomas Partey’s deflected strike restored Arsenal’s lead immediately after City equalised

Myles Lewis-Skelly performed Erling Haaland’s celebration after scoring against Man City

Kai Havertz got on the scoresheet to make amends for missed chance earlier in the game

‘We all need to stick together. It’s key that we don’t start pointing fingers and we look at ourselves first and foremost in that dressing room and we come together as a team and try to make things right. 

‘We want to come back from this, bounce back quickly, not erase it because these things make you stronger.’