It should be an even game, a big showdown between Manchester City and Arsenal on Wednesday night. The two have been feuding over the title for months. Before kick-off, Arsenal led the standings with five points. City are technically a contender.

But then City crushed their rivals 4–1. It could have been 4-0 at half-time. They were so outstanding that one wonders how the title fight got so even.

That’s the kind of domination you get with City during the day. In the last six weeks, they have put in some football on par with the best we’ve seen in the Pep Guardiola era in England. Last summer we wondered what could happen when the country’s best team got one of the world’s best strikers.

Now we see the answer: A blue steam road roller that destroys everything in its path. And one that will be very difficult to stop in the race for the top three titles.

Role reversal

Everything is working for City now. The pressure is on, the gap between the halves is great, the defense is strong and Haaland is integrated into the team.

Haaland has often scored two or three goals almost without being in a game. Kevin De Bruyne usually serves the passes. Against Arsenal, Haaland showed he could do more.

Radar pairs switch roles. First Haaland battling for a long ball with the stopper behind, brought the ball down and played it to De Bruyne, who scored the opener. Then Haaland took a hard shot at the playmaker, who should have scored his second goal. After the break, he again found De Bruyne who scored again.

And towards the end, Haaland certainly made sure to find his own net.

It’s a dimension City have rarely used, but presented itself against a team that knew them inside and out, and which forced them to play a little differently. Guardiola had a major influence on English football with his focus on patient possession.

Using Haaland’s strengths, City scored one of their most “English” goals in a long time.

Get the full match

It’s no wonder that Haaland is guarded by City all the time. Guardiola said they almost man-marked to make sure he wasn’t injured.

Guardiola himself had taken him off in six of the last seven games before the win against Arsenal, to rest the super striker. Against Leicester, he was substituted in the first half. Against Leipzig, when he scored five goals, he was sent off after 63 minutes. This has been the biggest hope of the rivals.

The only one who seems to be able to stop Haaland is Guardiola himself.

Against Arsenal, he finally played the full game – and scored in extra time. It is number 49 for Haaland this season, and number 33 in the league.

One wonders how much more would have happened if he had been allowed to play more full games.

Highest gear

In any case, the debate surrounding Haaland has died down. He will always be open to criticism as long as the team doesn’t always win, but City may be better than ever. Not only because they often win. They destroyed the team with three and four goals.

City just beat Leipzig 7–0, Liverpool 4–1, Bayern Munich 3–0 and now Arsenal 4–1. This is a team that is meant to be able to challenge them.

They have a seven-game winning streak in the league. They have 17 unbeaten records in all competitions.

They have lost one home game in the last 12 months.

This is what makes the title fight seem over. Arsenal still lead the table, but City need to win only six of their last seven matches. The toughest they have left is Brighton away. And this condition applies if Arsenal, who are now four games without a win, win their fifth.

There is no indication that City are stumbling in the league right now. They are too kind. They have Haaland. The shop is too big. The damage is too little. The experience is too great.

Plus, they’ve shown before how strong they can be when they find a rhythm. In four of six seasons under Guardiola, they have gone on a winning streak of 12 or more league games. In 2018/19 they won all round of 14.

This large form is nothing new. City just found top gear.

Spanish constraints

Can someone stop them? In the FA Cup final, Manchester United will really need a win. Only their fans can say that they have won the English treble, namely the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season. They did it under Alex Ferguson in 1999.

For many United fans, the final will probably be a battle to prevent City from winning the title itself.

But based on how often United have struggled in big games under Erik ten Hag, City would be big favourites. That leaves Real Madrid the biggest obstacle. The Spaniard beat City by two late goals in last year’s semi-final and has a psychological advantage. Guardiola will never forget that night in Madrid.

But this time he has Haaland. And despite all the talk of individual records, this is the Champions League the archer has come to Manchester to win.

They have won the league four times in five years without him. They don’t need a super tip to fix that steak. If they become European champions, Haaland can be said to have done his job. That he was the piece they had been missing.

Three games remain in the tournament before Haaland can claim something like this, but City are on a steady path. Before this season they were very good.

The way they are playing now, they just seem unstoppable.