Mohamed Elneny 5, Alexander Lacazette 6; Phil Foden 8, Gabriel Jesus 7: Arsenal v Manchester City player ratings

Another crushing defeat for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta

ARSENAL RATINGS: Runar Alex Runarsson 5 – Looked nervous with the ball at his feet in the opening half hour, and gifted City a second goal when he failed to handle Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick. On another occasion, he came out of his box when he had no chance of getting the ball. He did, however, make a magnificent point-blank save from Jesus before half-time.
 Reuters

Shkodran Mustafi 5 – Was caught out when Jesus got in front of him to head City in front. He gave away too many free-kicks and was walking a tightrope after getting booked early on. Reuters

Gabriel Magalhaes 6 – Was the more dependable of Arsenal’s defenders but was guilty of giving Phil Foden too much space when the City midfielder scored Arsenal’s third goal. His general frustration saw him grow increasingly rash in the tackle. Reuters

Sead Kolasinac 5 – Looked off the pace at the back and though he managed to get forward on the overlap, he seemed unwilling to get balls into the box. AFP

Cedric Soares 5 – Was mostly a passenger, as he contributed very little at either end. Played on the right behind Joe Willock and the duo was outclassed. PA

Mohamed Elneny 5 – Saw plenty of the ball but was often guilty of playing it backwards when a forward pass would have been more appropriate. Was also clumsy in the tackle. Getty

Dani Ceballos 5 – A disappointing night for the loanee. His distribution was poor, particularly when in attacking areas, and he often dwelled on the ball too long. Getty

Alex Maitland-Niles 6 – Looked dangerous when making runs into the City half, but didn’t always get the support from those around him. Getty

Joe Willock 6 – Started on the right and didn’t see much of the ball in the first half. His movement and running at the defence did however trouble City, but he cut a lone figure. AFP

Alexander Lacazette 6 – Levelled the scores against the run of play with an excellent finish when he got ahead of his marker to head home Martinelli’s cross. EPA

Gabriel Martinelli 7 – Provided some much-needed energy into the Arsenal team, first by closing down City’s defenders, and then setting up Alexander Lacazette for the equaliser. He was missed when he hobbled off. Getty

SUBS: Pepe (Martinelli) 5 – Looked sharp when he came on but was often surrounded by City players when he had the ball. AFP

Emile Smith-Rowe (Elneny) 5 – Was dangerous around the City area and showed a good turn of pace and willingness to try and open their defence. PA

Folarin Balogun (Lacazette) N/A – A decent little cameo which will have boosted his chances for more game time on Boxing Day. AFP

MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Zack Steffen 7 – Commanded his area well when it came to crosses, but was a bystander when Arsenal equalised. He looked nervous after that, giving away possession, though he recovered well to react and clear his lines when Martinelli was through. Made another good save towards the end. AFP

Joao Cancelo 7 – Was one of City’s better performers. He enjoyed a lot of the ball and looked confident, made key passes, recovered well, won his aerial battles… before running out of steam in the second half. Getty

Ruben Dias 6 – An accomplished performance, though he could have done better when Lacazette levelled the scores. AFP

Aymeric Laporte 6 – Looked a little wooden at times, which is not surprising given he’s finding his feet after injury, and he improved as the game went on. He netted his first goal of the season with a simple header. PA

Oleksandr Zinchenko 6 – He spent much of the night hugging the touchline and delivered a peach of a cross for Jesus to head home the opening goal. Better going forward than defending: standard. AP

Rodri 6 – Did a bit of City’s dirty work but was overshadowed by Fernandinho. He had a quiet night, but did help turned some of Arsenal attacks into City possession. AFP

Fernandinho 7 – Was involved in an incident in the first half in which he caught Ceballos in the face, though it looked accidental. Overall, he dominated the midfield, winning the ball back, and providing an assist for Foden. AP

Riyadh Mahrez 7 – Looked dangerous in and around the Arsenal box. He came close in the first half but got the goal he deserved in the second when his free-kick slipped through Runarsson’s hands. Reuters

Bernardo Silva 5 – A quiet evening for the Portuguese midfielder who couldn’t influence the match, and who was booked for a clinical challenge on Dani Ceballos. Was later replaced by Torres. AP

Phil Foden 8 – Scored one and set up another during another positive performance. He broke the offside trap to score City’s third with a neat dink over the advancing Runarsson, and then set up Laporte for City’s fourth with an inch-perfect cross. PA

Gabriel Jesus 7 – Opened the scoring with a free header and then worked hard when out of possession. Missed a glorious chance with the scores level. EPA

SUBS: Ferran Torres (Bernardo Silva) 6 – Like the player he replaced, he didn’t make much of an impression but by then the game was already won. AFP

Sergio Aguero (Jesus) N/A – Some crucial minutes under the belt, though he didn’t have a huge impact. Getty

Kyle Walker (Rodri) N/A – Slotted in seamlessly and was solid if not unspectacular, allowing Zinchenko to move forward into midfield. EPA

Arsenal's League Cup exit at the hands of Manchester City has left the Premier League club in dire straits ahead of a season-defining festive schedule, manager Mikel Arteta admitted.

Arsenal have lost five of their last seven Premier League games and lie in 15th place with 14 points, their worst start to a season since 1974-75.

Their problems mounted after a 4-1 League Cup defeat by holders City sent them crashing out of the competition, raising the pressure on Spaniard Arteta, who took charge of the club last December.

Arsenal face Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday before games against Brighton and West Bromwich Albion in quick succession. They also play Newcastle in the FA Cup on January 9.

"We have to turn it around, there is no question," Arteta said. "If we don't, we are in big trouble, so this is the moment that is going to decide our season. We do have the tools to turn things around because I see how much the players try and what they are trying to do, but at the moment a lot of strange things are happening in every game and that makes things really difficult."

Assessing the individual performances, Nick Judd provides his player ratings in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.