Despite Manchester City winning 3-1 at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, Jack Grealish thought Arsenal were “a lot better” than the City.
Even though Bukayo Saka scored from the penalty spot for the hosts, goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Grealish, and Erling Haaland were enough to give City a crucial three points in the Premier League title battle.
Despite the fact that Mikel Arteta’s team does have a game in hand, the victory puts City ahead of Arsenal on goal differential as they pursue a fifth championship in as many years.
Grealish believes that despite the Gunners having 63.6 percent of the possession and 10 shots to the visitors’ nine, City was fortunate to defeat them.
“If I’m being honest, I don’t think we actually played that well,” Grealish told Amazon Prime after his fifth goal involvement in nine Premier League matches since returning from the World Cup.
“I think Arsenal played a lot better than us. I thought they were the better team, I think so.”
Grealish won the Premier League title in his debut season with City last year after they paid off his £100 million release clause from Aston Villa, making him the most expensive English player ever.
The 27-year-old feels that against Arsenal, City had a champions’ mindset, saying: “If you win titles, you’ve got to come to grounds like this.
“Even when you’re not at your best, you’ve got to win games.”
Last month, Grealish scored in the 2-1 loss to Manchester United in the local derby, and he added a second goal in a crucial game against Arsenal on Wednesday.
The winger claims that when he joined City, he specifically intended to score in crucial games, explaining: “Honestly, it was massive. For me, it was a great night.
“That’s what I’ve wanted to do. I feel like I’ve been playing well. I want to come and affect these big games.
“To score tonight was so important, honestly, I was absolutely buzzing, for myself and the team. I thank the manager really, he’s letting me play a lot and with freedom.”
Grealish, who had already received a booking earlier in the game for a foul, was thinking about receiving a red card as he celebrated his 72nd-minute goal.
“I know [Ilkay] Gundo[gan] and I knew he was going to pass it. He’s so unselfish, I just knew he was going to pass,” Grealish recalled.
“As it was coming, it felt like 10 seconds. I was going to try and reverse it, but I know [Aaron] Ramsdale from our time at England.
“When I was celebrating, I was going to take my top off, but I was on a yellow card already!”
