Kevin De Bruyne was imperious during Manchester City's 3-1 victory over Arsenal on Wednesday evening.
The Belgian playmaker broke the deadlock in the first half at the Emirates Stadium following a costly error from Gunners right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu. Tomiyasu tried to roll the ball back to goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale but De Bruyne anticipated the pass before using his supposedly weaker left foot to chip the onrushing keeper with an exquisite first-time finish.
Bukayo Saka then equalised for the north London outfit, converting a penalty after referee Anthony Taylor adjudged City goalkeeper Ederson to have fouled Eddie Nketiah in the box. But the visitors went up a level after the break and it was De Bruyne who was at the centre of it all.
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The former Wolfsburg midfielder dictated the tempo in the centre of the park, also providing an assist for his side's third goal, which was cleverly converted by Erling Haaland after Jack Grealish had restored the lead 10 minutes prior. However, De Bruyne did show one moment of weakness during the tense clash in north London when he pushed Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on the touchline after the Spaniard had tried to stop the 31-year-old from taking a quick throw-in.
The two spent three-and-a-half years together when Arteta was an assistant coach at the Etihad Stadium and the Belgian's previous comments certainly suggest that he greatly admires the young manager. When asked back in October if Arteta's recent success surprised him, De Bruyne told Sky Sports: "No, not really.
"I think obviously a see a lot of similarities with the way that we play, but that has always been his style so I think when he stopped playing and came here it was a good learning school. I saw an evolution from the beginning of Mikel to after the three years when he left.
"At the beginning, he was adapting but then he was getting more and more into his role. We also saw he had a lot of ambition and when an opportunity came he took that. It's nice to see that he got the time from Arsenal.
"I'm happy for him that it's going well."
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