Arsenal were perhaps a tad fortunate to escape with a 2-2 draw after a
fantastic game of football at the Emirates with the Champions Manchester City showing
their drive and desire till the final whistle. Arsenal were easily the better
side in the first half hour but found themselves behind to a Sergio Aguero goal
after debutant Danny Welbeck was unfortunate to hit the woodwork. Arsenal came
back strongly in the second half, completely against the run of play with Jack
Wilshere and Alexis Sanchez scoring goals of impeccable quality to put the home
side in front. However, Man City weren't finished yet with Martin Demichelis
planting a header via the fingertips of Szczesny into the back of the net to
earn a point for his side. City had three terrific chances late on to win the
game as their better fitness came to the fore with the woodwork saving
Arsenal's blushes twice and Szczesny making a terrific save to deny Dzeko. In
the end, a draw was probably a fair result for both teams in what was a
fantastic advert for the English game.
Arsenal made two changes to the
team which shockingly drew at Leicester City with Danny Welbeck replacing Yaya
Sanogo, who failed to make the Arsenal bench even, while Jack Wilshere came in
for Santi Cazorla. The good news for Arsenal was that Mesut Ozil and Aaron
Ramsey had recovered from their respective ankle injuries to make the starting
eleven, while skipper Mikel Arteta was also back, but he was on the bench as
was Kieran Gibbs. Goalkeeper David Ospina was also named on the Arsenal bench
for the first time since his move from Nice.
Manchester City has been cautious
with their team selection, making 6 changes to the side that lost to Stoke City
at the Etihad Stadium. The full backs had been swapped with Pablo Zabaleta and
Gael Clichy coming in for Bacary Sagna and Aleksander Kolarov respectively,
while the more defensive minded James Milner replaced former Gunner Samir
Nasri. Steven Jovetic's injury saw him drop out, while Edin Dzeko was left on
the bench as City went into the game with just one striker in Sergio Aguero up
top. Yaya Toure was the notable absentee having arrived late at the club
following international duty with the Ivory Coast, resulting in former Chelsea
legend Frank Lampard being handed his Man City debut. Fernandinho, who scored a
brace against the Gunners last year, took the place of the injured Fernando.
Arsenal started the game in
superb fashion with Jack Wilshere producing arguably his best 20 odd minutes in
an Arsenal shirt in the last two years. The Englishman dictated play in the
middle of the park and Arsenal were sharp in the tackle, incisive with their
passing and rushing the Man City backline.
They also created all the early
chances with Alexis Sanchez testing Joe Hart with a snap shot from out side the
box, while Aaron Ramsey had a couple of shots from distance.
Arsenal's best chance of the half
though came the way of 'dat guy' Danny Welbeck as he was played through on goal
by an errant back pass and the youngster chipped Joe Hart with a delightful
effort only for it to caress the post and come back into play.
Arsenal were made to rue that
early miss as Sergio Aguero showed the true finishing ability of a world class
striker as he latched on to a perfectly weighted low cross from Jesus Navas
from an all too familiar counter attack to put Manchester City 1-0 ahead.
City continued to be the better
side after the goal with David Silva producing a good save from Wojciech
Szczesny with his less fancied right foot as the Arsenal defence was cut to
pieces once again by some sharp City interplay as the Premier League champions
hit their stride.
As the half ended, City started
giving away plenty of fouls, but Arsenal's delivery from set pieces was quite
awful and the Gunners struggled to make any real impression on the City
defence.
City made a change at the break,
brining on Nasri in place of the booked Frank Lampard with Milner dropping into
midfield where the champions were being over run, with Nasri slotting in on the
left hand side of midfield.
City made all the early running
in the second half as they had the lion share of possession, and threatened on
more than one occasion, and for a while it looked like Arsenal were bereft of
ideas.
Up stepped Jack Wilshere, playing
the game of his life, as he played a couple of one-twos, the second of which
send him through on goal, and a perfectly chipped finish with his weaker right
foot.
City continued to look the brighter
side after the equalizer, but it was Arsenal who took the lead with Alexis
Sanchez showing exemplary technique, cushioning a header from Wilshere into the
top corner.
Arsenal's lead didn't last too
long though as some poor marking from a corner and some indifferent keeping
from Szczesny allowing Demichelis to plant a header into the net which saw Man
City draw level.
City had the better chances after
that to win the game with the visitors hitting each post and Szczesny making a
match saving stop to deny Edin Dzeko. Samir Nasri followed up to tap the ball
into an empty net, but fortunately for the Arsenal fans, the assistant referee
quickly ruled him offside.
Both teams had late chances to
win the game in stoppage time too, but in the end a 2-2 draw was probably a
fair result.
Teams:
Arsenal: Szczesny,
Debuchy (Chambers 81'), Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini (Arteta
95'), Wilshere, Ramsey, Alexis, Ozil, Welbeck (Oxlade-Chamberlain 88')
Subs: Gibbs, Arteta, Podolski,
Ospina, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Chambers
Man City: Hart,
Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Fernandinho (Kolarov 77'), Lampard
(Nasri 46'), Navas, Silva, Milner, Aguero (Dzeko 68')
Subs: Sagna, Nasri, Dzeko,
Kolarov, Sinclair, Caballero, Mangala
Final Score: Arsenal
2-2 Manchester City (Agüero 28', Wilshere 63', Sánchez 74', Demichelis 83')
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