It was a hugely disappointing evening for Arsenal last night as the Gunners were leapfrogged by Manchester City following defeat at the Emirates.

A penalty from Bukayo Saka wasn’t enough for the hosts as Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland all netted for City in the 1-3 defeat.

It was always going to be a difficult game; however the Gunners went toe-to-toe with City for the most part, but disappointing errors handed City the three points in the end.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta spoke to the media after the defeat:

“We gave them three goals; you don’t do that against City. Ninety-nine times out of 100, you’re going to lose the game. And we still had three big, big chances and we didn’t put them away. When that happens, you have zero chance to win.”

Arsenal went close on a number of occasions, but it simply wasn’t Arsenal’s night in front of goal despite some good play in the build-up.

The Gunners didn’t play particularly badly, and a 3-1 defeat is a generous score line for City who on the night were simply far more clinical than the hosts.

Arteta expressed his satisfaction with the way his side played despite the defeat:

“It made me proud the level we have raised today against probably the best team in the world, when they are able to play at the level with the players that we have. We have matched that level and believe me, that’s really difficult to do against this team.”

City’s win took them above Arsenal in the table on goal difference, the first time this has happened since August.

The Gunners aren’t in a good patch of form, gaining just one points from a possible nine in their previous three games, however with a game in hand the title race is far from determined by last night’s result – as echoed by Arteta:

“There’s still a huge marathon to go for every single team. We have a huge battle now on Saturday again to keep going but the team continues to perform and play this way. We need to improve the efficiency in the box, that’s for sure, we want to get more points.”

On a positive note, the Emirates was rocking in the midweek clash, with the fans backing their team for ninety minutes despite the result. Arteta shared his gratitude for the crowd after the game:

“The atmosphere right from the beginning was electric, they drove the team. Hopefully we give them hope and joy, but it’s a shame because we really wanted to get the points for them.”

Next up for Arsenal come Aston Villa at Villa Park, not the easiest of games however a chance for redemption after a disappointing month.