3 things we learned as Manchester City beat league-leaders Arsenal

2.) Mikel Arteta Has Eyes on the Prize 

I don’t think Arteta will ever admit to this, but it seemed clear with 6 changes in the squad that faced Manchester City, his attention was on a larger prize, one Arsenal hasn’t won in a long, long, long time.

City went with what can be considered their in-form squad, leaving players like Ruben Dias (returning from injury), Joao Cancelo (out of favor), Kyle Walker (out of favor/returning from injury), and more on the bench.

While Arsenal was very much in charge of the first half, Manchester City took control of the second half and found the difference maker in Nathan Ake’s goal. When Partey came off and Lokonga entered the game, everything changed. Space was there to be had by almost any City player who wanted to exploit it, and they did just that.

Was Arsenal truly sacrificing the FA Cup for the Premier League, or was Arteta just setting himself up for excuses after a loss? Regardless, Arteta still holds the aces in the Premier League, and by rotating 6 players for this FA Cup tie, Manchester City only got a little taste of what Arsenal will look like ahead of their first meeting in the Premier League.

Unless injuries start to pile up, and in particular Thomas Partey gets injured, it certainly looks like Manchester City is the only obstacle for Arsenal in this Premier League title race.