Arsenal delivered a statement of intent in the Premier League title race with a 5-1 hammering of champions Manchester City to close the gap at the top to six points on Sunday.

Captain Martin Odegaard fired Arsenal into a second-minute lead and City were finished off in ruthless fashion after the break with teenagers Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri both on target for the rampant Gunners.

Erling Haaland’s 55th-minute equaliser, his 250th senior career goal, had briefly raised City’s hopes, but they could have no complaints as any lingering chance of winning a fifth successive title surely disappeared into the north London night.

Arsenal are now 14 games unbeaten in the league and have 50 points from 24 games with leaders Liverpool on 56 from 23.

Manchester City are a distant fourth with 41.

Arsenal have been accused of being over-reliant on set-piece goals this season but on Sunday they played with fluency and flare to rack up their biggest home win of the league season.

“It was a top game, a top performance and with the fans and the atmosphere it can’t be better, so very happy.

“In the end, I think we got what we deserved, “Odegaard said

City, whose six-game unbeaten run in the league had suggested they were returning to form, were generally second-best apart from a lively spell before halftime when Arsenal keeper David Raya was forced into a couple of crucial saves.

“It is difficult. I think all of us don’t take losing well,” City defender John Stones said. “It is hard to put into words straight after a game like that.

“How we played in the last 30 minutes was not acceptable.”

Sloppy City gifted Arsenal the lead when Manuel Akanji was put in trouble by teammate John Stones and was dispossessed before Kai Havertz calmly set up Odegaard to sweep home from close range despite an attempted block by Stones.

With City at sixes and sevens, Arsenal thought they had made it 2-0 shortly afterwards when Gabriel Martinelli lifted a shot past Stefan Ortega but was adjudged to be offside.

City were spared further punishment when they again lost the ball playing out from the back and Havertz, with the whole goal to aim at, somehow dragged his shot wide.

Haaland touched the ball only six times in the first half but came alive in the 55th minute to head in Savinho’s cross.

For a moment it looked as though Arsenal’s earlier misses might haunt them but 38 seconds after the restart Phil Foden gave the ball away and Thomas Partey’s shot deflected off Stones to leave Ortega with no chance.

With their tails up, Arsenal looked to rub City’s noses in the dirt and Lewis-Skelly took a pass from Declan Rice before sending a right-footed shot past the diving Ortega.

Havertz made up for his earlier miss with a clinical finish from Gabriel Martinelli’s pass after a counter-attack.

The party was already in full swing when substitute Nwaneri left Ortega for dead with a sublime curling finish after a long passing move.

Arsenal will now try to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit in Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final at Newcastle United.

While City will have to dust themselves down as a seismic Champions League playoff against Real Madrid looms. (Reuters/NAN)

Nigeria will battle Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania in the group phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

Report says that this was confirmed at the end of a colourful ceremony at the Mohamed V Theatre in Rabat on Monday.

With the draw concluded, the Super Eagles now have just 11 months to prepare for the 35th AFCON finals, with the tournament scheduled to hold between Dec.

The three-time champions must navigate Group C that also houses Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles, the Cranes of Uganda and the Taifa Stars of Tanzania.

The Eagles are expected to open their campaign with a game against the Taifa Stars.

As hosts of the AFCON for the first time ever, in 1980, the Eagles battled the Taifa Stars in the tournament opening match.

The Tanzanian team was complete with their highly-rated team captain Leodegar Tenga and the enigmatic goalkeeper Jona Pondamali.

Nigeria won 3-1 and went ahead to win their first continental title.

Then, 20 years later, as co-hosts (with Ghana), Nigeria played Tunisia in their first match of the tournament, beating the Carthage Eagles 4-2 in Lagos.

The Eagles went all the way to the final, losing to Cameroon only after a penalty shootout.

The Carthage Eagles pipped the Super Eagles by a lone goal in the Round of 16 at the finals in Cameroon, three years ago, to end the sweet run of the three-time champions.

Uganda have always proved a tough nut to crack for Nigeria, including a 2-1 win over the Eagles at the 1978 finals in Ghana that condemned Nigeria to the third-place match.

Nigeria won that third-place match after Tunisia abandoned the match in the 42nd minute.

Hosts and 1976 winners Morocco are drawn in Group A alongside 2012 champions Zambia, 1972 runners-up Mali and Comoros that will be playing in only their second championship.

Cup holders Cote d’Ivoire are in Group F and must negotiate a tricky pool that also has five-time champions Cameroon, Gabon and Mozambique

Seven-time winners Egypt are at war with 1996 hosts and champions South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe in Group B, which somewhat looks like the “group of death”.

Senegal who are the 2021 winners are at loggerheads with two-time winners Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin Republic and Botswana in Group D, while 1990 and 2019 winners Algeria will confront Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan in Group E.

Full Draw

GROUP A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros

GROUP B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe

GROUP C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania

GROUP D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin Republic, Botswana

GROUP E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan

GROUP F: Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique. (NAN)

The following are the results of Match Day 20 fixtures in the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) played on Sunday:

Akwa United FC 1-2 Remo Stars FC

Heartland FC 1-0 Lobi Stars FC

Plateau United FC 2-1 River United FC

Kwara United FC Vs Shooting Stars FC (postponed)

Kano pillars FC Vs El kanemi Warriors FC (Postponed)

Bendel Insurance FC Vs Enyimba International FC (postponed) (NAN)