This was a statement Manchester City performance, although maybe not in the traditional sense.
City were back to their ruthless best at Bournemouth and were able to keep the pressure on Arsenal, scoring four times to improve the mood around the club after a week of frustrations. Many criticisms have been levelled at City after the last two games, from their use of Erling Haaland to how many substitutions Pep Guardiola makes.
It seemed like City were on a mission to prove Guardiola right on various points one-by-one, ticking off a number of supposed weaknesses as though they were side-quests to the main objective of returning to winning ways and getting three points. It was well and truly accomplished at the Vitality Stadium.
