Manchester City defeated Arsenal to take control of the Premier League title race following an enthralling showdown at the Etihad. Erling Haaland scored the winner in the 65th minute to settle a thrilling contest after the Gunners went agonisingly close to taking the lead. Eberechi Eze struck the inside of the post just a couple of minutes before Haaland held off Gabriel to volley City into the lead.

It leaves City three points behind Arsenal in the title race and with the chance to go top for the first time this season on Wednesday night. And, after Kai Havertz missed a golden chance to equalise in stoppage time, it means the title race will go right down to the wire. Here are five talking points from Man City’s 2-1 win over the Gunners.

Erling Haaland’s ripped shirt symbolises Man City’s winThree years ago it was the sight of Erling Haaland’s long hair flowing behind him as he celebrated the final goal of Manchester City’s thumping 4-1 over Arsenal that summed up how Pep Guardiola’s side had ripped apart Mikel Arteta’s challengers. Three years later, the sight of Haaland’s ripped undershirt, following his latest grappling duel with Gabriel Magalhaes, that symbolised another defining victory. City were not rampant this time.

Arsenal went away from that bruising defeat in April 2023 and returned stronger, physically and mentally. And yet, Haaland was still able to hold off Arsenal’s biggest and most important defender as he fired the winning goal to settle a colossal clash. Following Jeremy Doku’s surge into the box and Nico O’Reilly’s flick across goal, Haaland pounced on the chance as he held off Gabriel to volley in.

In a fascinating tactical duel, City had the muscle to take a step closer to the title. "Manchester City in charge, again!"Erling Haaland powers through to find the back of the net 💪 pic.twitter.com/tt04wbQnaz— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2026Should Gabriel have seen red card for Haaland head butt? So, turns out Gabriel was a little bit frustrated by being beaten to the ball by Haaland for the winner.

In the 83rd minute, there was another flash point between the pair after Gabriel fouled Haaland from behind and the striker pushed the defender away from him when he got back to his feet. Gabriel reacted by putting his head towards Haaland’s and they stood for a moment with their foreheads touching. But Gabriel then made a second movement and pushed his head towards Haaland’s for a second time.

Haaland did not respond, as team-mates from both sides broke them up, but Gabriel was extremely fortunate that Haaland did not go down as it would likely have ended up as a red card for violent conduct. Instead, both players were booked by referee Anthony Taylor for the altercation, while Pep Guardiola was also cautioned for his appeals. The Manchester City manager could be seen acting out a heat butt on the touchline.

The incident was checked by VAR, according to the Premier League Match Centre. “The referee’s call of no red card was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the action from Gabriel deemed not to be excessively aggressive or violent.“ With a title race that is this close, however, Gabriel staying on the pitch and avoiding a three-game ban for violent conduct could be crucial. “He can thank Haaland a lot, Gabriel, for not going down and holding his nose,” Gary Neville said on Sky Sports.

"He's very lucky"Should Gabriel have seen red? 🟥 pic.twitter.com/pDjN7OfvFB— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2026Was this the moment Arsenal could have won the Premier League? Martin Odegaard stood with his head in his hands. Marc Guehi had been caught on the ball on the halfway line and suddenly Arsenal were away, Declan Rice playing out wide to Eberechi Eze and then Odegaard slipping Kai Havertz through on goal with just Gianluigi Donnarumma to beat.

The goalkeeper stood tall and made a redemptive save, given his earlier error. Arsenal had a four-on-two but could not capitalise. A couple of minutes later, Eze hit the inside of the post with a curling shot from the edge of the box, the rebound off the woodwork skirting across the face of goal.

That was how close Arsenal came to taking charge of the title race and getting their hands on a first league trophy in 22 years. They had been under pressure from the restart, with Havertz’s chance their first shot on target since the equaliser. Eze’s shot stayed out by an inch.

Eberechi Eze rattles the post! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/aipB9QSJCO— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2026Did Arsenal’s kick-off force Donnarumma’s blunder?Almost 14 years to the day since from Fernando Torres’ goal for Chelsea against Barcelona, the early stages of Manchester City vs Arsenal gave us “Gary Neville at Camp Nou: The Sequel”. In the first few minutes, David Raya’s heavy touch from a goal-kick that almost rebounded into the net off the charging Erling Haaland, left Neville shaking his head and asking “what the hell” the goalkeepe