Man City vs Arsenal LIVE: Result and reaction from Premier League title decider as City thump Gunners

Arsenal kick off the match and send the ball back to Aaron Ramsdale. He belts it long and City win control of possession.

Martin Odegaard presses immediately and almost nicks the ball back but City’s back line send it across to Kyle Walker who tries to sprint down the right had side.

Here come the teams.

The players step out onto the pitch at the Etihad Stadium. This one feels as big as a final, it could prove to be one at the end of the season.

Kick off is up next..

Which way will tonight’s showdown go? Can Arsenal shock City to get one hand on the Premier League trophy?

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, speaking to BT Sport: “It is different as it is the top two in the Premier League that have been fighting for many months. It is a really important game. It is not decisive, especially in this league, with the amount of points still to play for. We want to win it but we have to earn it.

“Granit Xhaka has been really important throughout the season. Since I have been here he has played every single game. We need that experience, competitiveness and edge. We are happy to have him back.

“We ended Friday’s game with a draw but the feeling that we should have won it. The reality is we gave away two really sloppy goals and in this league it becomes really difficult to win. But the team showed incredible spirit, confidence and hunger not to give up. We will need a lot of that tonight.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, speaking to BT Sport: “We are calm. Nothing much to say. Go out there and do your best.

“The defensive structure is for everyone to try to help. We defend all together in high pressing and we defend deep all together. We try to have the ball as much as possible to try to score goals.

“Everyone has seen Arsenal this season. They are strong in all departments. In set pieces, transitions, ball possession, build up with four or with three and Zinchenko inside, the runs from Martinelli and Saka.

“We cannot deny how important it is. It is not decisive but it is a really important game.”

It is a word Mikel Arteta has now used in public, but only to emphasise what he has been saying to his Arsenal players behind the training ground fences.

“Perfection.”

To beat this Manchester City, Arteta has asserted to his squad, Arsenal have to be perfect in everything they do. That’s no exaggeration for motivation. He means it about every step, every run, every pass. It might be asking a lot given Arsenal’s last three games, but this is what they have been building towards for months.

Pep Guardiola’s ultra-focused players have been playing to these demands for much longer. That’s despite the Catalan on Tuesday insisting “perfection doesn’t exist in football”. That’s saying something given he has presided over a 100-point season, a 98-point season and a domestic treble, all before currently going for the grandest treble of all.

These are now the levels, after 15 years of the Abu Dhabi project. If City win seven of their remaining eight games, which seems a fair expectation, that will be 91 points. Arsenal would require 92.

Gabriel Martinelli has been directly involved in 11 goals in his last 10 league appearances, scoring eight and setting up three for Arsenal.

Martinelli also tops the charts for successful dribbles (56), with Bukayo Saka (42) and Martin Odegaard (39) also amongst the top 10 in the Premier League.

Ederson has kept just six clean sheets across 20 games in all competitions since Christmas for Manchester City.

Is there a slither of hope that Arsenal can put a couple of goals past the Brazilian tonight that would take them to the Premier League title?

The cause of the frenzy happened to be Mohamed Elneny’s most noticeable contribution in weeks. The Arsenal midfielder’s Instagram story showed William Saliba back in the gym, peddling on an exercise bike and pointing to his head.

Apart from that, the clip revealed nothing that couldn’t otherwise be seen, but it spread on social media regardless, generating an excited reaction from a fan base desperate to claw onto any sort of positive news ahead of the trip to Manchester City. This was one: Saliba was back, and everything was going to be fine.

And then it wasn’t. First Saliba could not be seen in Arsenal’s training photos ahead of facing Southampton last week, then Mikel Arteta delivered the news.

“He is not progressing as quick as we hoped,” Arteta admitted. It all but confirmed that Saliba was out of Arsenal’s biggest Premier League game in 19 years. While Arteta did not want to make predictions, there is now doubt over whether he will play again this season as well.

“We are finished,” came one reply. “Goodbye title,” came another, even if Twitter is hardly the place if you are looking to find measured reactions.

Mikel Arteta has lost all six of his Premier League meetings with Manchester City as a manager - they are the only side the Spaniard has failed to beat in the division.