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Premier League highlights: Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal
Arsenal reporter at Etihad StadiumPublished37 minutes ago39 CommentsThe image of Mikel Arteta on his knees in his technical area as Kai Havertz headed over a stoppage-time chance will be the image lodged in the head of many Arsenal fans.
And unfortunately for the Gunners, missed opportunities and a lack of a ruthless finisher were the story as Manchester City beat them 2-1 to close in on the Premier League leaders.
It was billed as the Premier League decider by many and just like in the Carabao Cup Final last month, City got the better of Arsenal.
Erling Haaland held off Gabriel Magalhaes and swept in City's winner in the 65th minute to seal a 2-1 victory as the momentum of the race swung towards Pep Guardiola's side - and showed the importance of possessing that killer instinct.
The Gunners pushed City all the way in a tightly-fought contest and both managers referenced the "small margins" of the game, but missed chances for Arsenal are the reason the title race is now wide open.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Arsenal have seen their lead at the top of the Premier League drop from nine to three points
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The difference was in the boxes - Arteta This was not a poor performance from Arteta's team but their lack of killer instinct is looking like it could damage their chance for a first league title in 22 years.
Arteta named a side that attempted to play on the front foot and included Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard in the same team for just the fourth time this season as he tried to get his team to dominate the ball.
"The reality is that in the two boxes today was the difference - and that's what decided the game," Arteta said.
Havertz led the line in place of summer-signing Viktor Gyokeres and he was the man to bring the Gunners level, minutes after Rayan Cherki's brilliant opener, with his block on goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma's clearance bouncing into the net
But it was the two missed chances from the German international that will be remembered.
In the second half with the scores level, Havertz was played through on goal but could not finish past Donnarumma and he missed a 95th-minute header from inside the six-yard box, which left Arteta on the ground.
Eze hit the post from the edge of the area as did Gabriel's header from a free-kick in the second half but the Gunners could not find a way through.
Arsenal attempted to solve their need for a striker when they brought in Gyokeres for £64m last summer from Sporting.
But, despite scoring 18 goals in all competitions this season, there are still questions about whether the 27-year-old is suited to Arsenal and can produce what the Gunners need from him.
"That's really difficult," Arteta said when asked how he could make his players more ruthless.