Manchester City recorded their second 3-0 win over Arsenal in the space of just four days courtesy of a ruthless performance at the Emirates stadium this evening.
A trio of high-quality first-half goals from Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Leroy Sane saw City race into their commanding lead inside 33 minutes on a freezing night in North London.
Arsenal had the chance to claw a way back into the match when they were awarded a penalty in the early stages of the second half, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw his spot kick saved by Ederson.
Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute coverage below.
These two sides will be very familiar with each other having met just four days ago at Wembley, and Man City will be hoping for a similar result on their quick return to North London today. Arsenal have little choice but to win if they are to keep their top-four hopes alive, though, so it should be a very interesting encounter.
Before we get into that, let's first check out the team news...
Well, the headline as far as Arsenal are concerned is that Henrikh Mkhitaryan returns to the starting XI as expected, having missed the EFL Cup final due to being cup-tied.
The Armenian - a former Manchester United player, of course - made a brilliant start to life at the club with three assists early on, but that has proven to be something of a false dawn as far as the team's recent form. A good performance from Mkhitaryan tonight could improve that situation, though.
© Offside
The Gabon international will have plenty of support, though, with Mesut Ozil once again proving to be one of the most creative players in the league this season and the likes of Ramsey, Mkhitaryan and Welbeck all capable of contributing in the final third as well.
Wilshere drops out to make room for another former Manchester United man, while there will also be a change of system for this game as Arsenal revert to four at the back, having revisited the three-man defence option at Wembley.
Monreal misses out having picked up a back injury in Sunday's final and is replaced by Kolasinac, while Mkhitaryan and Welbeck also come in.
Aguero has a brilliant recent record against Arsenal too, scoring in each of his last five appearances in this fixture across all competitions. The Argentine has never scored in six consecutive games against any single opponent for City.
© Offside
Raheem Sterling is another who misses out due to injury this evening, with the England international still struggling with a muscle injury. This is now the third game in a row he has missed, but Sane is back fit and firing to join Bernardo and Aguero in the front three.
The Belgian has a league-leading tally of 14 assists this term, although strangely only two of those have come in away fixtures. If De Bruyne doesn't unlock a defence then David Silva is more than capable of doing it himself, though, and the Spaniard also starts this evening.
Vincent Kompany interestingly keeps his place in the side ahead of Stones and Laporte in an unchanged back four, although goalkeeper Ederson does return in place of Bravo behind them. Indeed, Bernardo in for Fernandinho is the only switch Guardiola has made at all.
Arsene Wenger will be demanding a better performance from his players this time around, but they were so clearly second best to City at Wembley that their chances of picking up a win - even here at home - look bleaker than they would against almost any other team in world football.
Both are big asks for the Gunners, though, and the Europa League is their own remaining hope of silverware - as well as providing an alternative route into next season's Champions League. Arsenal have been handed a tough draw in the last 16. though, where they will take on an in-form AC Milan side.
Arsenal's own result on Sunday will have ruined their weekend, but it was made even worse by the fact that Tottenham scored a late winner to beat Crystal Palace. That saw Spurs increase the gap to 10 points, so it will take a fairly sizeable collapse from one of the teams above them in the table for them to bridge that deficit.
The Gunners come into this match in really poor form too. They have lost four of their last six games across all competitions, including their last two against minnows Ostersunds and then Man City. Another defeat would mark three losses in a row for the first time since March 2016.
That run includes three defeats in their last five league outings and should they lose again tonight then it would be back-to-back top-flight defeats for the first time since August. This is their first league game since February 10, though, when they fell to defeat in the North London derby.
Once again that comes with an asterisk, though, as Arsenal's most recent home game saw them lose to Ostersunds and should Man City win then it will be back-to-back home defeats for the first time since March 2016.
Arsenal have only lost one of their last 20 Premier League home games and have won the last two, scoring nine goals in the process. It is at the other end where there is a big issue at the moment, though, with Arsenal having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last nine league matches.
They added three more to that tally from all competitions against today's very opponents on Sunday of course, and it was the old guard who led the way on that occasion, with Aguero, Kompany and Silva getting the goals.
City boast a 13-point lead over second-placed Manchester United as things stand, with tonight's game in hand too, and they have been champions-elect for some time now. Guardiola still refuses to say that the title is as good as won, but it is very difficult to see them having any troubles on that front.
© SilverHub
City are a huge 27 points clear of tonight's opponents - a remarkable gap considering they are two of England's top teams - and will have their sights set firmly on Chelsea's record points haul of 95.
However, by their own ludicrously high standards, their form has dropped a little bit of late, with Guardiola's side having dropped points in three of their last seven league games.
Like Arsenal, this will be City's first Premier League game since February 10, and they thrashed Leicester 5-1 in their most recent one. City have now lost just one of their last 35 Premier League outings.
City are winless in their last three league games on the road - a veritable nosedive in form by their standards. Indeed, City have picked up only two points from a possible nine in that time, whereas they had only dropped two points all season before that run.
Across all competitions City have 'only' won three of their last seven away outings - having won 15 of the previous 16 - and all three of their defeats have come on the road this season. Hope, perhaps, for Arsenal.
It is hard to back against Man City in any game they play at the moment, particularly when Arsenal are in such poor form too. However, the home-away form of these two teams does make this prediction a little more difficult. Man City will be favourites, but we're backing a score draw.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Arsenal 2-2 Man City
Another victory here at the Emirates would see City do the league double over the Gunners for the first time since 1975-76, and would also see them become the first team to beat Wenger's side three times in the same season since Chelsea in 2005-06.
That includes 20 visits to either Highbury or the Emirates in the Premier League era, with their only victory coming under Roberto Mancini in January 2013.
Both teams have found the back of the net in eight of their last nine meetings in the Premier League, so a BTTS bet looks like a safe one this evening!
ARSENAL STARTING XI: Cech; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Welbeck; Aubameyang
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Danilo; Gundogan, De Bruyne, Silva; Bernardo, Sane, Aguero
It is brilliant from Sane as he darts away from four Arsenal players, getting himself out of a tight situation before driving forward and feeding the ball out to Bernardo Silva. The winger collects it and then cuts inside onto his left foot before curling a fine finish past Cech and into the top corner.
WATCH: Sane dribbles his way past four Red shirts before @BernardoCSilva opens the scoring!
— Sky Sports PL (@SkySportsPL) March 1, 2018
What a strike! 👏
Watch it live on Sky Sports Premier League or follow it here: https://t.co/6LWexCsznM https://t.co/NSFpd7w0cw
Again Sane is heavily involved with a brilliant turn which again leaves his marker for dead on his way down the left flank. His cross picks out Aguero, who in turn puts it into the path of Silva. Silva's touch is perfect and he then sweeps his finish past Cech.
Aguero turns away from his marker and bursts forward before giving the ball to De Bruyne, who in turn plays it through to Walker down the right. Sane darts to the near post in the middle and gets on the end of the cross at the same time as Bellerin. However, the ball deflects past Cech and into the bottom corner.
WATCH: Sane ➡️ Aguero ➡️ Silva.
— Sky Sports PL (@SkySportsPL) March 1, 2018
If it's not @BernardoCSilva it's @21LVA!
What a goal from @ManCity! Is there any way back for @Arsenal now?
Watch it live on Sky Sports Premier League or follow it here: https://t.co/6LWexCsznM https://t.co/L8b5lUW2VF
3 - Arsenal have conceded three goals in the first half of a Premier League home game for the first time ever. Overwhelmed. pic.twitter.com/BGR7ok0X7f
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 1, 2018
Arsenal have actually played much better than they did in the EFL Cup final, but they have come up against a magnificent City side in top form here. They have been ruthless tonight and have surely killed the game off already.
Sane raced away from four Arsenal defenders before playing the ball out wide for Bernardo, who was allowed to cut inside onto his left foot and curling a fine finish into the top corner.
This time he darted down the left flank before picking out Aguero, who in turn nudged the ball into the path of Silva. The Spaniard's first touch on the move was absolutely perfect, and from there he made no mistake with his finish.
There was an element of luck over his finish as the ball crept in to the bottom corner, but the buildup was once again devastating as City cut Arsenal apart in ruthless fashion. Aguero, De Bruyne and Walker were all involved, leaving Arsenal defenders in their dust throughout the move.
The hosts win a penalty as Otamendi gets the wrong side of Mkhitaryan and catches the Arsenal man with a clumsy swipe at the ball inside the box. Andre Marriner points to the spot but doesn't deem the offence worthy of a second yellow card.
Aubameyang steps up, but his penalty lacks power and isn't perfectly placed, allowing Ederson to get across and make a good save.
SAVED! Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for @Arsenal, @Aubameyang7 sees his penalty saved by Ederson!
— Sky Sports PL (@SkySportsPL) March 1, 2018
Watch it live on Sky Sports Premier League or follow it here: https://t.co/6LWexCsznM https://t.co/fN2aiAzK8N
11 - Manchester City have saved 11 of the last 19 penalties they have faced in all competitions (excludes penalty shootouts). Intimidating. pic.twitter.com/zF0ZcQeTzc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 1, 2018
Wenger's side were blown away in the opening 35 minutes by a devastating Man City performance as they cut through their hosts ruthlessly for all three goals. Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Leroy Sane got on the scoresheet, whereas Arsenal failed to make the most of their chances including a missed penalty from Aubameyang.
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Man City cruise to a 3-0 win over Arsenal, with all of the goals coming inside the opening 33 minutes. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!