Irresistible Man City's pursuit of Arsenal is inevitable and unstoppable after Chelsea rout

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They are closing in at such a pace that it almost feels inevitable. Manchester City have got the bit between their teeth and it is no wonder that Arsenal are getting nervous.

The travelling City fans belted out a chorus of “Are you watching Arsenal?” because you can sense yet another title collapse in North London.

City have already won the Carabao Cup, they are into the FA Cup semi finals and are hunting down Arsenal in the title race.

Pep Guardiola is eyeing up another Treble of trophies as City look an unstoppable, irresistible force and it now only feels like a matter of time before they knock Arsenal off the top. City closed the gap to six points with this win and they have a game in hand.

In fact, City can do it in their next two games because if they beat Arsenal in their title showdown next Sunday and then beat Burnley in their re-arranged fixture they could go top on goal difference.

No wonder Mikel Arteta’s men are looking nervously over their shoulders. It would be one hell of a collapse but this City side make everything look easy.

Nico O’Reilly got the opening goal and he has been sensational in recent weeks, scoring six goals in his last 11 appearances and providing assists galore.

Rayan Cherki was just a joy to watch while Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku were also on target as they made such light work of Chelsea.

You would never know that Chelsea were in desperate need of points themselves as they are chasing a Champions League place.

Liam Rosenior watched as his side meekly surrendered in the second half as Guardiola just outwitted Chelsea’s rookie boss. Chelsea have now lost three Premier League games in a row without scoring a goal and their season is in danger of imploding.

Guardiola has been there, seen it and won it all before and he looks cooler then ever, Contrast that to Arsenal boss Arteta who looked like he was losing the plot when his side lost to Bournemouth on Saturday and duly handed the title initiative to City.

City have dominated this fixture - winning four of their last five visits to Stamford Bridge before this game - but they were still made to work hard for it.

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Chelsea did well in the first half. Marc Cucurella had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for offside by the tightest VAR margin. Pedro Neto worked City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma who made a smart save.

Incredibly, Erling Haaland did not have a touch or shot in the opposition penalty box for the entire first half but, in fairness to the City striker, more than once he tracked back to regain possession.

However, that quickly changed. City looked a team transformed in the second half. Haaland was dominant in the box. City pinned Chelsea back - and destroyed them.

Cherki, City’s mercurial, street footballer of a No.10, worked some space and sent over a cross to the back post and there was O’Reilly to head home. What a second half of the season he is having.

After 57 minutes it was 2-0. Cherki’s lovely through ball released Guehi and the England defender slotted in with great composure. City signing him and Antoine Semenyo in January changed the course of their season and both players cost less than £100m combined.

It was 3-0 after 68 minutes. Doku outmuscled Moises Caicedo - no easy feat - and then jinked his way through before firing a low shot into the bottom corner.

City are playing the best football, they have hit form at the right time and another title is now within reach. Chelsea, in contrast, were booed off and the wheels are coming off.