Arsenal stun City in five-goal thriller as Haaland misfires – live drama

Arsenal edge Man City in a chaotic 3-2 classic while Haaland blanks and Ødegaard runs the show. The title race just twisted hard – see who’s top now.

Kick-off! As of today, 2026-02-04, the pitch is on fire... Did you see that?? If you love wild soccer games, today's Premier League chaos between Arsenal and Manchester City just rewrote the script of the title race. Five goals, late drama, stars rising and superstars struggling – this is the kind of night that lives in your head all season.

Arsenal 3-2 Manchester City – Emirates turns into a madhouse

This one had everything. Arsenal came from behind to beat Manchester City 3-2 in a game that felt like it was running at 200 miles an hour from the opening whistle.

City actually struck first. After a sharp opening ten minutes, Kevin De Bruyne slid a trademark pass in behind and Phil Foden ghosted between the lines to drill a low right-foot finish into the far corner for 0-1. That woke Arsenal up instantly.

Arsenal's response was pure chaos ball. Pressing in waves, they forced a loose pass from Rodri, pounced on it and within seconds the ball was at the feet of Bukayo Saka. Cutting inside from the right, he wrapped his left boot around a curling strike into the top corner for 1-1. The Emirates exploded. You could feel the noise through your screen.

From there, the game became a heavyweight punch-up. Erling Haaland actually had two massive chances to flip it back City's way – one free header that he nodded wide, and a one-on-one where David Raya stood tall to block. On nights like this, every miss feels extra heavy. Haaland worked like crazy, but in front of goal he was a rare flop by his standards: no goals, no killer edge.

Ødegaard takes control, Martinelli brings the chaos

Arsenal's second goal was pure football art. Martin Ødegaard ran the show, dropping deep to dictate tempo. On 39 minutes he slipped a filthy disguised pass through City's back line to Gabriel Martinelli, who checked back onto his right and smashed low across Ederson for 2-1. It was a move straight off the training ground – touch, timing, and a finish with bad intentions.

City, being City, didn't fold. Right after half-time, they forced Arsenal deep. A corner caused chaos in the six-yard box and the rebound fell to Bernardo Silva, who stayed ice-cold, taking a touch before rifling into the roof of the net for 2-2. VAR had a long look for a possible handball in the build-up, and that's been the biggest online war tonight. In the end, the goal stood and the drama went up another level.

The decisive blow: substitute hero Nketiah

As legs tired, you felt one moment was going to decide it. Julián Álvarez smacked a free-kick just over for City; at the other end, Saka flashed a shot wide. Then came the 88th-minute madness.

Off the bench, Eddie Nketiah made himself the hero. Saka whipped in a teasing low cross from the right, City's centre-backs froze for a split second, and Nketiah slid in at the near post to stab the ball past Ederson for 3-2. Total eruption. Corner flags flying, arms everywhere, the stadium bouncing like a drum. That's the goal Arsenal fans will be replaying all week.

Haaland had one last half-chance deep in added time – a loose ball on the edge of the box – but he snatched at it and skied it into the stands. On a night when Arsenal's stars stepped up, City's biggest weapon just couldn't find the spark.

Stars check: heroes and underperformers

• Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) – Absolute conductor. One assist, created chance after chance, constantly found Saka and Martinelli between the lines. When Arsenal needed calm, he slowed it; when they needed chaos, he sped it up. World-class performance.
• Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – One stunning goal, one match-winning assist. Beating his full-back all game, drawing fouls, pressing like a madman. This is star-boy turned superstar stuff.
• Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) – Scored a ruthless striker's goal for 2-1, ran Walker ragged with his direct running. Every time he got the ball, City looked nervous.
• Erling Haaland (Man City) – The story of the night on the flop side. Plenty of involvement in build-up, but missed two big chances and never looked totally settled. For a player built on brutal efficiency, this was one to forget.
• Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) – Gorgeous assist for Foden and kept trying to drag City up the pitch. Even in defeat, his quality on the ball was obvious.

What this does to the Premier League table

This 3-2 win feels huge. Arsenal not only grab three points off a direct rival, they also leapfrog City in the football league table and tighten their grip on the title race. City, meanwhile, suddenly feel a little bit human – especially with Haaland blanking in such a big game.

What does this mean for the title race? Click here for the live standings

Elsewhere in Europe: Champions League contenders watch on

Across the continent, everyone in Champions League news circles will be watching this result. Arsenal's intensity tonight looked like a team completely ready to mix it with the best in Europe. City, usually the benchmark, showed tiny cracks – and you can bet Real Madrid, Bayern, and PSG analysts are rewinding this one, frame by frame.

From a pure soccer news standpoint, the big narrative is clear: Arsenal's core of Ødegaard, Saka and Martinelli looks like it's hitting full prime at exactly the right moment. If they can bring this kind of energy into midweek soccer games under the Champions League lights, no one's going to enjoy that visit to the Emirates.

My take: this felt like a power shift

Honestly, this didn't just look like a big win – it looked like a statement. In my opinion, Arsenal didn't just beat City, they out-ran them, out-fought them, and in key moments out-thought them. The way Ødegaard controlled tempo and Saka kept demanding the ball even after getting kicked all game? That's mentality monster stuff.

For Pep Guardiola, there are questions. Leaving Haaland on the pitch while he struggled might make sense most days, but tonight it felt like City needed a different kind of chaos late on – maybe an earlier tweak with Álvarez closer to goal. Defensively, letting Nketiah attack that near-post zone in the 88th minute is the kind of detail City usually nail.

If this is the night the title race cracked open, we'll replay Nketiah sliding across the turf and Saka sprinting to the corner flag on every end-of-season montage.

So what now?

The beautiful thing is, this isn't even close to over. There are more massive soccer games coming, more late winners, more VAR chaos, more screamers from nowhere. But as of tonight, 2026-02-04, Arsenal have planted their flag right at the top of the narrative.

Want to see just how big this win really is in cold, hard numbers? Who's top, who's chasing, and who's suddenly under pressure?

Check full stats & standings now

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