EPL: Haaland's Smile Says It All as Manchester City Cut Arsenal's Lead to Three Points

Manchester City did the needful at home after going into the match with a six-point lead, trimming Arsenal's advantage to just three points in what is now a compelling title race.

Arsenal would have gone nine points clear of Manchester City with a win, but a defeat means their lead is now just three points. City are truly in this title race and the pressure on Arsenal is massive.

They arguably deserved their 2-1 win on Sunday, having dominated much of the match statistics. In the end, they had 12 shots to Arsenal's eight, while holding onto possession at 59 percent.

It was a game of fine margins, of moments. Arsenal played possibly as well as they could have hoped and still fell short. At this stage it is hard to know whether Arsenal will be encouraged by their performance or shattered by all those near misses in the second half.

After the final whistle, Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta waved his hands in frustration, while the home supporters revealed a banner that read "panic on the streets of London."

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The Etihad serenaded the City players, and Arsenal know they have their work cut out as we head into the final stretch of the season.

The Manchester City players celebrated like this is a big, big win, like in the Carabao Cup final.

This certainly felt like a big shift within the title race but only just. Erling Haaland let his hair down, took his jersey off and walked round the field with the smile of a man who just scored the winner against his greatest rival.

Haaland smiled and pointed to his ear, while Rayan Cherki tapped his chest with a finger to confirm that, yep, he is the man.

Manchester City will go top of the table if they win at Burnley on Wednesday. So far they have been top for precisely six days this season.

There is usually a surprise result in a title race, but right now it feels like three away games, Arsenal at West Ham, City at Everton and Bournemouth, will be decisive.

Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva, speaking to Sky Sports, said, "Very big because it puts us in a position if we win our game in hand we're on the same points. Two weeks ago this didn't look very likely, this scenario. I'm happy we can be on the same points."