Mikel Arteta delivered a brutal, ruthless reminder by old boss Pep Guardiola

Manchester City demolished Arsenal 4-1 to take control of the Premier League title race.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (left) and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on the touchline during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Picture date: Wednesday April 26, 2023. PA Photo. See PA Story SOCCER Man City. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.

The seven-season itch remains unscratched and for Arsenal that must now mean an even longer wait to be crowned Premier League champions. Against a Manchester City team they last defeated in the league during the 2015/16 campaign, Mikel Arteta’s side were dealt a brutal, ruthless reminder of how little room for error there can be against, potentially, the most dominant force in English football history.

When the dust settles on a season in which the Gunners have over-delivered only to run out of steam, many will first remember this humiliation, a night where the yawning gulf in class could make you wonder how a title race existed in the first place. Equally Arteta must reflect on the three sloppy draws that preceded this, results that handed the initiative back to the reigning champions, and the slipping of standards from a core that appears physically and mentally spent.