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| English Premier League 2022-23: Manchester City let their hair down to confirm league dominance | | |  agencies
NEW DELHI, Apr 27: City continue to swat away all-comers with a thrilling style of play that has become more varied since the arrival of Haaland, who rivals PSG forward Kylian Mbappe as the best striker in the world.
Erling Haaland undid his ponytail and released his flowing blond locks moments before finishing off Arsenal in a purported Premier League title decider that turned into a procession for Manchester City.
The defending champions certainly let their hair down at Etihad Stadium with a swaggering performance that left little doubt about who the top team in England is.
Not that there has ever really been a debate.
Backed by the riches of Abu Dhabi and led by arguably the world's best coach in Pep Guardiola, City has established an era of domination in the Premier League that is starting to mirror that of France (with Paris Saint-Germain) and Germany (with Bayern Munich).
Complete the job - and City is the big favorite after Wednesday's 4-1 victory that trimmed the gap on Arsenal to two points with two games in hand - and the team will have won three straight titles and five of the last six in supposedly the world's most competitive league.
OK, there are question marks surrounding the foundations of this remarkable trophy run, with City facing more than 100 charges of alleged wrongdoing and failures to cooperate with a Premier League investigation into the club's finances.
For the moment, though, that's with the lawyers.
On the field, City continues to swat away all-comers with a thrilling style of play that has become more varied since the arrival of Haaland, who rivals PSG forward Kylian Mbappe as the best striker in the world.
No wonder Arsenal's young players have stumbled with City - propelled by Haaland's goals and Guardiola's strategy - chasing them down with a now-familiar winning run.
The league title looks to be heading to the Etihad once again. And the treble - Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup - appears to be well within City's grasp.
"They were exceptional, and it's extremely difficult to reach that level," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.
It's a level that might even allow City to break new ground in the Champions League, a trophy the club has never won. A two-legged semifinal meeting with Real Madrid awaits next month when City might yet meet its match, given the Spanish team's aura and history in the competition.
But City looks a more rounded and dangerous team than the one that fell just short against Madrid in the semifinals last season.
Much of that is down to Haaland, who now has 33 goals in the Premier League - a record in a 38-game campaign - and 49 in all competitions after netting the fourth against Arsenal. City has been transformed by the presence of the Norway striker, who showed against Arsenal that there is much more to his game than simply scoring goals.
He also had two assists for Kevin De Bruyne, the star of the show and a player who has made a habit of coming good in the final months of the season.
As if opposition defenses don't have enough to worry about with Haaland alone, De Bruyne - English soccer's player of the year in two of the last three seasons - has burst into life with three goals and five assists in his last four league games. His link-up play with Haaland is getting better by the week and he was unstoppable against Arsenal in his roving midfield role. |
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