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    Arsenal player ratings: Former Man City pair struggle most against old club while Smith Rowe shines but too late

    ARSENAL’S hopes of winning their first Premier League title in nearly 20 years were well and truly dashed by defending champions Manchester City.

    A 4-1 defeat at the Etihad saw Mikel Arteta’s faltering Gunners hand the Citizens the impetus in the title race.

    Arsenal's title hopes went up in smoke at the Etihad thanks to a 4-1 defeat to City6Arsenal’s title hopes went up in smoke at the Etihad thanks to a 4-1 defeat to CityCredit: GETTYErling Haaland and Co ran riot against the Gunners at the Etihad6Erling Haaland and Co ran riot against the Gunners at the EtihadCredit: RICHARD PELHAMGunners fans will be praying for a miracle before now and the end of the season6Gunners fans will be praying for a miracle before now and the end of the seasonCredit: REUTERS

    The North Londoners – who lead City by two points having played two games more – are now in need of an absolute miracle if they’re to win the league.

    Here, SunSport’s Neil Custis and Martin Blackburn rate and slate the struggling title hopefuls.

    Arsenal Player Ratings

    Aaron Ramsdale – 6

    Might feel he should have done better with Kevin De Bruyne’s opener but partially made amends with two saves to deny Erling Haaland. The score could have been more but for the England man.

    Ben White – 6

    Made a brilliant block to deny De Bruyne a second goal but then played John Stones onside as City moved two goals ahead in first-half stoppage time.

    Rob Holding – 5

    The referee should have stopped his contest with Erling Haaland early on or his bench thrown the towel in. But, incredibly, he got the late consolation goal.

    Gabriel – 6

    Shaped up better than his defensive partner but still found it difficult to handle Haaland and track the runners coming from deep – such as De Bruyne.

    Oleksandr Zinchenko – 4

    Slammed by William Gallas in the week for being found wanting in the run-in, the Ukrainian disappeared on his first trip back to The Etihad.

    Thomas Partey – 5

    Lucky not to concede an early pen when he tripped up De Bruyne. The Ghanaian couldn’t stem the sky blue tide as City overwhelmed the Gunners for much of the night.

    Oleksandr Zinchenko was found wanting on his old stomping ground6Oleksandr Zinchenko was found wanting on his old stomping groundCredit: GETTY

    Granit Xhaka – 5

    Had the thankless task of trying to get hold of a midfield when De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan were in full flow.

    Bukayo Saka – 5

    Saka might have fancied his chances against a makeshift full-back like Akanji.

    And when he did get the better of the Austrian he had Grealish for company. Wasted a late free-kick when he blasted the ball over the bar.

    Bukayo Saka struggled to impress at the Etihad6Bukayo Saka struggled to impress at the EtihadCredit: GETTY

    Martin Odegaard – 5

    Found it tough to get on the ball and sloppily gave it away to set City away for the third goal early in the second half. Replaced by Smith-Rowe as it was not his night.

    Gabriel Martinelli – 4

    Kept asking for the ball but Arsenal just couldn’t get it to him and City pushed him back.

    Gabriel Jesus – 4

    While he got back to scoring form recently didn’t have a chance here.

    Gabriel Jesus had absolutely no service at the Etihad6Gabriel Jesus had absolutely no service at the EtihadCredit: GETTYSubs:

    Smith Rowe (on for Odegaard 71) – 6

    Pepped up the Gunners but the game was gone by the time he came on.

    Nelson (on for Saka 80) – 5

    Wasn’t given much time to make an impact.

    Leandro Trossard (On for Martinelli 60) – 5

    Was given a thankless task at 3-0 down to do anything to affect this game.

    Jorginho (on for Xhaka 60) – 5

    The Italy international won’t be thanking his manager for being thrown into the middle of this.

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