Key battles: De Bruyne bounces back to his brilliant best

Three key battles at the Emirates

CLASS ACT: Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game with team-mate Jack Grealish. Pic:: Adam Davy/PA Wire.

Erling Haaland v Gabriel and William Saliba

The Arsenal central defenders knew they were in for a bruising evening against the Norway striker and they got just that. Although both Gabriel and Saliba were ready and willing to stand up to the City man in a physical battle, Haaland never gives up. He shanked a decent chance that fell his way after a long throw-in, but persevered and hustled Saliba into a conceding a free-kick that almost led to a second goal for City. In the second half, the big Norwegian’s physicality forced Gabriel to concede what would have been a penalty until VAR intervened to rule him offside, but Haaland was again heavily involved when City did go ahead again after 72 minutes, finding Ilkay Gundogan with a clever pass before Jack Grealish scored. And he was perfectly positioned after 82 minutes to take De Bruyne’s pass and finish with an unerring low shot — his 32nd goal of a remarkable debut season in English football.