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Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City
Hello, and welcome to this afternoon’s liveblog. As you’ll know by now presumably, in light of earlier events, City are now ten points behind United.
Here are the teams:
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Diaby, Wilshere, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Podolski, Walcott. Subs: Mannone, Mertesacker, Andre Santos, Giroud, Ramsey, Coquelin, Jenkinson.
Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy, Javi Garcia, Barry, Milner, Silva, Tevez, Dzeko. Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Sinclair, Kolarov, Suarez, Rekik, Balotelli.
So let’s have your predictions then.
What will the outcome of today’s game be?
Poll Results:
We’re underway…
Man City have started this game purposefully, winning a corner early on.
However, it’s cleared easily and Walcott threatens to instigate a counter-attack, though he concedes possession all too easily.
It’ll be interesting to see how City cope with the England international’s lightening pace today.
Controversial…
RED CARD FOR KOSCIELNY AND PENALTY FOR CITY!
PENALTY MISSED BY EDIN DZEKO (10 MINS)!
Dzeko turns Koscielny and is then unceremoniously dragged down by him.
He was the last man, so the referee has no option but to send him off.
Dzeko then misses the penalty, as his attempt deflects off the Szczesny’s legs, hits off the post and then goes back into the grateful goalkeeper’s arms.
Unsurprisingly, Arsenal have made a defensive-minded substitution now.
The unfortunate Oxlade-Chamberlain is replaced by Mertesacker.
To their credit, Arsenal aren’t exactly parking the bus as of yet.
They win a corner, and Hart’s unconvincing punch falls to Walcott, who blasts the ball well over from the edge of the box.
Dzeko’s miserable start to this game continues.
Clever play by Silva plays him through, but he slices the ball well wide from an awkward angle.
GOAL FOR MAN CITY!
Arsenal 0-1 Man City: Poor defending from Arsenal. They’re clearly unprepared for a quick City free-kick (20 mins).
The ball is played to Milner, and he is allowed far too much space by Vermaelen, and the midfielder then hammers it home masterfully.
The Gunners’ dodgy defence has let them down yet again.
Zabaleta goes down all too easily, after Podolski’s hand innocuously brushes against his face.
The defender’s subsequent complaints are justifiably ignored by referee Mike Dean.
GOAL FOR MAN CITY!
Arsenal 0-2 Man City: Zabaleta beats Gibbs in the tackle and plays through Miner.
Tevez’s sliding shot from the winger’s cross is parried by Szczesny, but Dzeko is on hand to tap it home (30 mins).
Arsenal are imploding.
Arsenal are still not shy in getting bodies forward, despite City’s man advantage.
The problem is that they invariably look likely to concede a goal down the other end.
Here are some of the game’s key moments so far:
YouTube credit: Goallllls
YouTube credit: SportsMini
YouTube credit: hdvideos69tv
Diaby finds himself in a good position just inside the box, but blasts the ball wastefully over.
Meanwhile, down the other end, Garcia’s header from a corner is well saved by Szczesny.
Poor marking and defending again from Arsenal – they could be on the end of a hammering if they’re not careful.
Anyone who speaks this language want to translate it?
HALF-TIME: ARSENAL 0-2 MAN CITY
Half-time and Arsenal have turned out to be the orchestrators of their own downfall once again.
Koscielny was turned far too easily for the penalty, and the decision to drag him back thereafter was extremely rash and merited a red card, judging by the letter of the law.
They were similarly inept at the back for both goals – Vermaelen gave Milner far too much space for the first goal, while Gibbs could have been stronger in the tackle with Zabaleta in the lead up to City’s second.
City, for their part, have been extremely clinical while producing an utterly professional display.
The visitors are well worth their 2-0 lead, as they’ve been better than Arsenal in practically every area of the field.
Their one regret will be Dzeko’s penalty, which was badly executed and could have ultimately put them entirely out of sight by now.
The second half is underway…
An indicator of how good City have been defensively is that their accomplished playmaker, Santi Cazorla, has been virtually anonymous.
It’s been a relatively uneventful start to the second half, with the visitors still looking rather comfortable.
City are sitting back now and working hard to disrupt even the merest hint of an Arsenal attack.
You get the feeling it’s going to need something special to open up Mancini’s side today.
Milner has been booked for a rash challenge on Wilshere, and the home crowd greet the decision with ironic cheers.
The referee isn’t exactly Mr Popular at the moment.
Meanwhile, Giroud has replaced Podolski for Arsenal.
The ineffective Diaby has been replaced by Ramsey.
He’s been out of action for a while, so perhaps the midfielder has a partial excuse for his below-par display.
Arsenal are still trying to instigate their typical slick passing game, but more often than not, they’re crowded out in the final third by their relentlessly diligent opponents.
Consequently, the attacks normal end in a frustrated shot from distance, and contain little threat.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, this game is prematurely petering out.
Arsenal just don’t look as if they believe they can launch a comeback.
Tevez fails to put the icing on the cake for City.
He’s played through on the counter-attack by Dzeko, but his attempt to round the keeper is stopped by Szczesny’s outstretched hand.
Down the other end, Giroud heads just wide following a well-executed free-kick out wide.
RED CARD FOR VINCENT KOMPANY!
It’s a very harsh red card.
Kompany wins the ball cleanly with a tackle, but he goes in two-footed as he does so.
Perhaps, once again, the letter of the law decrees that he has to go, but it still seems a little unfair, given that he won the ball and barely touched the man.
Here’s another look at that Kompany tackle, which resulted in a red card:
YouTube credit: footballfreaks53
Just over five minutes remain.
The sending off has made a difference, and Arsenal are pressing City intensively now.
In addition, Balotelli is about to come on for City.
Niall Quinn has named Edin Dzeko the Man of the Match.
He certainly recovered well from his bad start to the game.
A clever pass puts Walcott through on goal.
His attempt beats Hart, but Lescott is well positioned to clear the ball off the line.
We’re into five minutes of stoppage time.
FULL-TIME: ARSENAL 0-2 MAN CITY
It’s all over, and ultimately Arsenal can have few complaints.
It was always going to be an uphill task after they were deservedly reduced to 10 men early on, and it was made virtually impossible when they went 2-0 down.
Man City, unlike their opponents, were sharp in attack when necessary and defended rigorously in the second half to stamp out any threat of an Arsenal comeback.
Sky praised the Gunners for their “good spirit,” but these words amount to little more than feint praise, as they wilted when it mattered.
Right, that’s all folks.
Thanks for reading and commenting, and enjoy the rest of your weekends.
