Manchester City’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal did more than tighten the Premier League title race. It exposed a gulf in midfield composure and courage that Jamie Carragher believes decided the contest.

On analysis duty, Carragher argued that City’s experienced pair Rodri and Bernardo Silva “won the game in midfield” by outthinking and outplaying Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi. Arsenal began brightly, pressing high and winning the ball in City’s defensive third repeatedly, forcing early errors and unsettling Pep Guardiola’s side.

But where some teams would have gone long to escape the pressure, Rodri and Silva did the opposite. They dropped even deeper, at times forming part of the back four, demanding the ball inside their own box and insisting City play through Arsenal’s press. Carragher called it “real courage” – the willingness to keep taking possession in dangerous areas after being caught once or twice.

That bravery gradually flipped the dynamic. As City’s midfielders received under pressure and passed through it, Arsenal’s front line tired and their structure stretched. In contrast, when Arsenal built from the back, they often chose to go long, despite having a numerical advantage around their own penalty area. Carragher was scathing, suggesting some Arsenal players “didn’t really want the ball” in tight spaces.

The contrast was stark in the key moments. For City’s opener, Rayan Cherki was initially crowded out by five Arsenal players, with Zubimendi tracking him well. Seconds later, in a near-identical zone, Zubimendi could not shuffle across quickly enough, leaving Cherki just enough room to produce a brilliant solo finish. One lapse in compactness, Carragher noted, was all an elite technician needed.

The second goal again highlighted the midfield divide. Zubimendi surrendered possession with a hopeful ball forward that ran through to Gianluigi Donnarumma, allowing City to launch a controlled attack. As the move developed, Zubimendi was again late covering the right side, with Rice urging him across but the Spaniard unable to get there.

For Carragher, those sequences encapsulated why City are perennial champions and why Arsenal still feel like challengers. City’s midfielders embraced the ball under maximum stress. Arsenal’s, on the decisive occasions, did not – and the title race was blown wide open as a result.