Magnificent Manchester City dealt a crushing blow to Arsenal’s Premier League dream with a 4-1 win at the Etihad Stadium that puts them in control of the title race
Kevin De Bruyne scored two and set up the other for John Stones with the irrepressible Erling Haaland, who assisted both of De Bruyne's goals, finally getting the goal that his performance deserved by adding the fourth in stoppage time
Rob Holding had scored late on for Arsenal but the gap is down to two points and, crucially, City still have two games in hand
 Talk of the treble will only increase now
 For Arsenal, their first defeat since February is also their fourth game without a win
 Hopes are fading
Arsenal's three consecutive draws had swung the momentum back in Manchester City's favour and the home crowd seemed to sense opportunity from the outset
 Holding struggled to cope with Haaland throughout and it was critical to the opening goal
The striker held off the centre-back and with Thomas Partey failing to track the run of De Bruyne beyond the back line, the Belgian had time to pick out the corner of the net
 It looked easy
 It was not
 Amid the tension, De Bruyne had the coolest head of them all
He regularly found the space between Arsenal's pressing midfield and their backtracking defence
 Haaland had room to run into, producing one wicked strike of the bouncing ball, but his failure to connect cleanly with two other shots allowed Ramsdale to save
With Arsenal's attacking threat looking more of a rumour than a fact, Guardiola would have felt his side deserved more than a one-goal lead at the break and they duly had their second late in the half
 De Bruyne's free-kick found the head of Stones
 It looked offside
But the foot of Ben White was playing his fellow England international onside
 Cue wild scenes of celebration
 At that point, Arsenal needed something strange to happen
 It almost did when Ruben Dias appeared to kick out at White near the corner flag
 Only a booking
The change of ends brought no turnaround just more of the same with even the reliable Arsenal players rattled
 Gabriel was bullied by Haaland only for Ramsdale to save
 The striker then picked up a loose pass by Martin Odegaard and fed De Bruyne for his second
Though Holding's fine finish reduced the deficit to two late in the game, there was little prospect of a comeback, the contest turning into a procession
 Those still hoping for a title race will be anxious that the rest of the season does not play out the same way
Arteta was magnanimous in defeat, unable to hide the obvious gulf in quality between the two teams
"The analysis is clear, the better team won the game, they were probably at their best, especially in the first half and we were nowhere near the level
 When that happens, gap is too big
 We got punished and we could have been punished even more
"We played an exceptional team but we are an exceptional team too and today we were not at the races
"Asked why that was the case, Arteta said he would prefer to have that conversation with his players but he did expand on his concerns
 "They won every single duel, we had them in the corners and then with two passes they are through on our goal," he added
"We have to be loyal to what has brought us all this way
 But it is time to look in the mirror too
 The way we started the game did not help us
 We lost first and second balls
 That created an uncertainty and we could not grab the game as we wanted
"We knew we would need our best as a team and individually
 You need 11 players doing that
 Today we were far from them
"Even so, Arteta refused to concede defeat in the title race
"The stats at the start of the season said we would be sixth or seventh
 There are still five games to go and I have been in this country a long time and I know how it shifts
But would five wins be enough now? "I do not know what will be required
 First we have to lift the players because it is a difficult one to swallow
"Guardiola chose to focus on his own team's performance as the reason for Arsenal's level dipping
 "I do not underestimate Arsenal
 I know how good they are," he said
 "I prefer to think they did not have their best level because we were really, really good
"Congratulations to all the players and the backroom staff
 It was not decisive but very important
 We played really well from the start to the end
 Still, they are top of the league, the reality is that we are two points behind but we have two games in hand
"I think the next three games will be really important but the most important thing is the destiny is in our hands
 If Arsenal win, it is in theirs
 If we win, it depends on us
"So, he would prefer to be in City's position now? "Absolutely, in our position
 I prefer it because it depends on us
 Until today I would prefer the position of Arsenal
 Now, it is in our hands
""It is over
 Watching Man City, I cannot see them losing two football matches before the end
 They are head and shoulders above everybody
"Arsenal had to take their chances because they might not get in this position again
 There is no way Arsenal finish above Man City next season, you do not realise how close they have come this season
 It is nailed on impossible now
"Arsenal have got to go to Newcastle yet