Arsenal 0-3 Manchester City: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

#3 Kevin De Bruyne runs the show in midfield

De Bruyne was brilliant

In 2018-19, Manchester City held on to their crown by the skin of their teeth as they ultimately outwitted Liverpool by a solitary point. However, the most astonishing element of their title run-in was that Kevin De Bruyne, arguably the best player in their ranks, featured only intermittently.

And, as the current season crosses the half-way mark, one can’t help but wonder how the Sky Blues coped in his absence, especially considering the virtuoso performances he has been churning out. However, at the Emirates on Sunday, the Belgian even bettered his lofty standards as he kept the Arsenal side on strings throughout the encounter.

In the opening period, the midfielder got on the ball and orchestrated each attacking foray the visitors made. He got in between the lines superbly and caused the likes of Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi plenty of problems. Consequently, he found himself in several promising positions in the offensive third and portrayed the requisite craft and guile to conjure an end product.

Additionally, he kept the ball extremely efficiently and was also on hand to fulfil a few of his defensive responsibilities, although Arsenal didn’t particularly threaten a lot on that front. Over the past couple of seasons, there has been a consensus that De Bruyne finds himself in the legion of the most premier players in the world. Yet, with such performances, he is probably ensuring that he’s earmarking his name as probably the best of the lot below Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

And, if he keeps portraying such attributes on a football pitch, one wouldn’t put it past him to rival the aforementioned greats, over the course of the upcoming months.