Aguero’s tenth hat-trick means it’s only a matter of time before he breaks my record
Argentine superstar scored three to sink Arsenal and close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool
SERGIO AGUERO was at his brilliant best against Arsenal and is now only behind yours truly for Premier League hat-tricks.
He has 10 in the league for Manchester City and it’s definitely only a matter of time before he overtakes me.
City burst out of the blocks again just as they did against Newcastle in midweek.
But unlike at St James’ Park they got the second, which killed off the Gunners.
They were growing into the game but Aguero’s effort just before half-time proved a sucker-punch and made the result inevitable.
And what a goal it was.
The build-up was superb, with Fernandinho starting it off with a ball out to Raheem Sterling on the left.
The return pass he received from Ilkay Gundogan was excellent and Sterling –who was fantastic again in picking up two assists- just put it on a plate for Aguero.
It was a bold call by Arsenal boss Unai Emery to go with all of Alex Iwobi, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
They were playing reasonably well but that goal knocked the wind out of them and proved the killer blow.
City were really impressive overall and they just slipped into another gear after the break.
Their passing was slicker and they had much more pace to their play than they did against Newcastle.
Pep Guardiola and his team didn’t let the Gunners back into it and dominated — in fact, Arsenal did not have a single effort on goal in the second half.
Like Emery, it was a brave decision by City boss Guardiola to tweak his formation for such a big game and only informing his players of the change two hours before kick-off!
Fernandinho played as a centre-back when City didn’t have the ball but then pushed up into midfield when in possession to give them an extra man.
It was a risky decision, but worked out perfectly for Pep.
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City were fortunate that Liverpool didn’t capitalise against Leicester last week and they are now back on track.
They had to win after missing a huge opportunity against Newcastle and they got the job done to go just two points behind.
If Liverpool don’t beat West Ham tonight, and City beat Everton on Wednesday, then they will be top of the league, having been ten points adrift as recently as December 29.
City did what they had to do and it’s now up to Jurgen Klopp’s side to make another statement in this fascinating title race.
They will likely be neck and neck for most of the rest of the season, knowing that the other will be ready to pounce on any dropped points.
West Ham won’t be an easy game at all. And for me it’s slightly harder than the chance Liverpool had against Leicester to stretch the lead at the top.
Over to you, Jurgen.