Sharjah24 - AFP: With a 3-1 victory over championship rivals Arsenal on Wednesday, Manchester City, who had been written off at times during an extraordinarily unpredictable season, made a strong statement and climbed to the top of the Premier League.

As City's players celebrated in front of their travelling fans in one corner of the Emirates Stadium at the final whistle, Pep Guardiola's face was wreathed in smiles, and perhaps tinged with a little relief.

Just a few minutes earlier, Guardiola had been punching the air in delight as second half goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland lifted City back to the top of the table.

Kevin De Bruyne had given City the lead and even Bukayo Saka's controversial penalty equaliser wasn't enough to shake the champions' equilibrium once they rode Arsenal's first half storm on a rainy night in north London.

Having trailed Arsenal by eight points just a month ago, City are now firmly in contention to retain the title.

Arsenal might have a game in hand but it was City who finished a frenetic encounter with all the momentum in the title race.

Guardiola has been waiting for this moment as he searched for concrete proof his City stars still had the hunger required to be crowned champions.

While there has never been any doubt about the hyper-competitive Guardiola's desire to lift the Premier League trophy for the fifth time in six seasons, it has not always been so clear that his team held the same appetite for success.

Defeats at Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham, as well as a home loss to Brentford and a surprise League Cup exit at Southampton, had given the impression that all was not well in the City camp.

Guardiola's curious tactics and his unexpected decision to allow Joao Cancelo to join Bayern Munich on loan in January further added to the sense of a team drifting at a time when Arsenal were revitalised under his former assistant Mikel Arteta.

Even Erling Haaland's barrage of goals came with the caveat that the Norway striker's style of play might not be best suited to Guardiola's philosophy.