Man City beats Arsenal despite Gianluigi Donnarumma howler

Story by

Jonathan Abraham, USA TODAY

Sun, Apr 19, 2026 ·

2 min read

In a crucial matchup between the top two sides in the Premier League, Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made a massive error to help Arsenal equalize.

Luckily for the home side, Donnarumma's mistake didn't prevent them from earning a huge 2-1 win over the Gunners on Sunday, April 19.

Manchester City took the lead in the 16th minute, courtesy of a scorching hot Rayan Cherki .

After receiving the ball from right back Matheus Nunes , the Frenchman eluded three defenders to ultimately find the bottom left corner with precision.

However, just two minutes later, Arsenal would find the equalizer through a massive mistake from Donnarumma.

Arsenal's Kai Havertz applied pressure on the Italian goalkeeper, who had the ball at his feet. Donnarumma failed to properly clear the ball, and the German striker deflected the clearance into the back of the net.

Donnarumma was consoled by his teammates after his mistake.

City manager Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports that he liked the reaction of Donnarumma's teammates after the error.

"[ Abdukodir Khusanov ] has to block better and the aggression of Havertz," Guardiola said after the match.

"But I liked the reaction of his mates, they were there to help him. When I see teams [that] concede a goal and everyone is complaining, I don't like that."

The Italian goalkeeper would go on to partially atone for his error, making a huge save on Havertz 15 minutes into the second half.

Just minutes later, Erling Haaland scored the final goal of the game as City picked up a huge three points.

Arsenal now leads the Premier League by three points over City, which has a game in hand and could go top with a win over Burnley on Wednesday, April 22.