Man City whip Arsenal

London: Manchester City tore Arsenal apart for the second time in five days on Thursday, beating them 3-0 on a freezing night at The Emirates to restore their 16-point lead as they close in on the Premier League title.

Arsenal hoped for redemption after City thrashed them by the same scoreline in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday but first-half goals by Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Leroy Sane handed the Gunners their second home league loss this season.

Arsenal`s club record signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang added to the home side`s woes when his penalty was saved by Ederson early in the second half after fellow new arrival Henrikh Mkhitaryan was brought down just inside the area. 

The win leaves Pep Guardiola`s scintillating City side on 75 points from 28 games ahead of second-placed Manchester United and they only have to win five of their last 10 matches to be crowned champions for the third time in seven seasons. 

Messi strikes in draw
Meanwhile, in Catalonia, Lionel Messi`s stunning free-kick was not enough for Barcelona as a controversial penalty earned Las Palmas a 1-1 draw on Thursday and threw La Liga's title race wide open. Barcelona will host Atletico Madrid on Sunday, in a clash of first against second with extra weight, now that the Catalans` lead has been cut to just five points. Atletico thrashed Leganes 4-0 on Wednesday night.