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Arsenal 1-4 Manchester City: Guardiola’s men aggravate Arteta’s misery
Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Aymeric Laporte hit their mark as Manchester City reached the EFL Cup quarter-finals.
Manchester City booked a spot in the EFL Cup semi-final and put further pressure on Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta with a resounding 4-1 win at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Arteta, who was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City before taking over for the Gunners a year ago, has faced questions about his future after a lousy start to the season leaves his team languishing in 15th place in the Premier. League.
He found no respite against his former club, with City, who have won the competition in each of the last three seasons, moving on to the last four after second-half goals from Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Aymeric Laporte.
Alexandre Lacazette had earlier given the hosts hope to end a three-game losing streak at home to City when he canceled Gabriel Jesus’ opener, but it turned out to be a rare moment of joy in another tough loss for the beleaguered club. North London. .
Our Carabao Cup streak comes to an end in the quarterfinals.
#CarabaoCup 1-4 (feet) pic.twitter.com/dBluN2nPP9
– Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 22, 2020
The visitors began ruthlessly, taking the lead after just 125 seconds when Jesus headed a cross from the left by Oleksandr Zinchenko that passed Runar Alex Runarsson within the six-yard box, ending a 609-minute goal drought for the Brazilian.
Laporte headed wide from a corner before the Gunners tied with their first shot on goal in the 31st minute, when Lacazette headed a Gabriel Martinelli cross from six yards.
City should have reestablished their lead before the break, but Runarsson ran out of his line to deny Jesus after a clever play on the edge of the penalty area that involved Foden.
However, the Arsenal goalkeeper was to blame for second City nine minutes after the break, allowing Mahrez’s free kick from the edge of the area to twist through his lukewarm grip.
City added a third five minutes later when Foden grabbed onto Fernandinho’s pass and delivered a lovely finish over Runarsson, though the goal would have been disallowed if VAR had been in use with replays clearly showing the midfielder was out of bounds. game.
The headlines added sparkle to an 18th consecutive victory in the competition in the 73rd minute, with Laporte stealing down the back post to finish off an attractive cross from Foden.
What does that mean? Arsenal fighters missing in action
Arteta said this week that he wanted the “fighters” of his Arsenal squad to come to the fore as they tried to reverse a terrible start to the campaign. However, their war cry fell on deaf ears, as the City pushed away the complacent hosts with the minimum of fuss.
Lacazette’s goal was one of only two shots on goal, as Arsenal conceded four times at home in an EFL Cup match for the first time since November 1998, when they lost 5-0 to Chelsea.
The foot shines through the city
Foden was in dazzling form, scoring a good third goal and then creating a Laporte shot with a superb cross. The English international completed 28 of his 32 passes and won all three of his games in a wonderful all-round display.
Maitland-Niles worst of a bad group
No Arsenal player covered himself in glory, but Ainsley Maitland-Niles was particularly poor. He lost possession 20 times, more than any other player on the court, won just two of his nine games and failed to play a single key pass.
Opta key facts
– Arsenal (14) have been eliminated in the quarter-finals of this competition more times than any other team.
– City are the first team to win four consecutive away games against Arsenal in all competitions since Chelsea between 1960 and 1965 (six in a row).
– Foden has been involved in nine goals in his last 12 EFL Cup appearances (four goals, five assists).
– Up to 72 per cent of Lacazette’s goals in all competitions for Arsenal have been scored at home (38 of 53).
Whats Next?
Arsenal will look to end a seven-game winless streak in the Premier League when they host Chelsea on Saturday, while City host Newcastle United on the same day.
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