SIMPLY THE BEAST

City stars hail De Bruyne and Haaland as an unstoppable force driving them to their third straight title

-  DAVID McDONNELL

ERLING HAALAND and Kevin De Bruyne have been hailed as "beasts" rampaging towards a third straight Premier League title for Manchester City.

League leaders Arsenal were overwhelmed by the deadly combination of Haaland and De Bruyne in Wednesday's ruthless 4-1 mauling at the Etihad.

The definition of a beast in the dictionary is any non-human animal' - and the remorseless manner of City's two best players was monstrous at times.

City star Bernardo Silva used the term to describe the towering pair, whose understanding has put Pep Guardiola's side on course for a fifth Premier League title in six years.

"They were two beasts with their movements," said Silva. "Usually it's Kevin with all the passes and Erling with all the scoring, but this time it was the opposite.

"Knowing Arsenal would come man to man, we tried to stretch them as much as possible to give the big men as much space as possible to run.

"Arsenal gave space for Kevin and Erling to run. When you give them this kind of space, they are so difficult to defend against.