Arsenal 1-4 Manchester City | 5 Talking Points as lacklustre Gunners are ousted by Cityzens | 2020-21 Carabao Cup
Arsenal welcomed Manchester City to the Emirates with a place in the 2020-21 Carabao Cup semi-finals on the line.
The reigning champions opened their account early when Gabriel Jesus headed home with Manchester City's first attack. Arsenal equalised 30 minutes later through an Alexandre Lacazette header, with the two teams going into the break on level terms.
Nine minutes into the second half, Manchester City regained their lead through a Riyad Mahrez free-kick. A third would come five minutes later when Phil Foden chipped over an onrushing Alex Runarsson.
Manchester City added a fourth in the 73rd minute through Aymeric Laporte from close range to add more gloss to their scoreline. The 4-1 win saw City progress to the semi-finals as they chase their fourth consecutive Carabao Cup triumph.
On that note, here are five talking points Manchester City's convincing win over Arsenal.
#5 Alex Runarsson produces a horror show against Manchester City
When you’re signed for £1.5m, expectations of your ability are quite low. However, with the bar literally on the floor, Alex Runarsson has still managed to disappoint.
Up against a ruthless Manchester City attack, Runarsson shockingly made the visitors' lives easier. He was arguably at fault for City's first goal, as he allowed Gabriel Jesus to nod home at the near post.
The second goal was even worse, as Runnarson was beaten by a free-kick despite getting his hands to the ball. For the third, the Arsenal goalkeeper lost his head and came off his line too early, allowing Foden to chip with ease.
Runnarson truly had a horrific game, and this display won’t have done much to dislodge Bernd Leno as Arsenal's number 1.
#4 Manchester City belie their indifferent league form to score four
A lot of criticism as of late has been levelled at Pep Guardiola’s team, with many highlighting their inability to score goals. This season, Manchester City have only scored 19 goals in 13 league games, a tally far below their staggering standards.
However, against Arsenal, the reigning Carabao Cup champions belied their indifferent league form to score four. Although three of them were due to defensive mistakes, City still looked at their clinical best, converting four of their seven shots on target.
Whether Manchester City are able to translate this strike rate into the league or not remains to be seen though.