Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard admitted Manchester City were worthy winners following their 4-1 victory over the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening.
City moved to within two points of the Londoners at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a Kevin De Bruyne brace plus further goals from John Stones and Erling Haaland. The Blues will move to the top of the ladder with a win against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
De Bruyne opened the scoring after just seven minutes before Stones doubled the Blues' lead right on the stroke of half-time. De Bruyne then grabbed his second nine minutes after half time before Rob Holding netted a late consolation goal for the visitors.
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Haaland, who had provided the assists for both of De Bruyne's goals, then got himself in on the act in stoppage time, firing home his 49th goal of the season in all competitions. City still have two games in hand on Mikel Arteta's side, who have now failed to win each of their last four matches, meaning the champions are now strong favourites to retain their crown.
And for Gunners midfielder Odegaard, who has been excellent this season, he pulled no punches in his post-match analysis, admitting that City were simply better. He also outlined the threat of star man Haaland, who has now scored 33 Premier League goals this season.
"They were the better team, we didn't play on our level," said Odegaard. "They were a lot better than us in many areas of the games, that's disappointing.
"They got the game where they wanted with the early goal, and the second one before half-time made it more difficult. City can do different things, with Erling up front they can go more direct, and that was difficult to defend."
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