Arsenal dented Manchester City’s top four hopes while strengthening their own position after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad on Sunday saw the two teams share the spoils. Manchester City scored twice in each half only to be pegged back on both occasions to take their Champions League qualification hopes out of their hands for the time being.
Squads
Man City: Hart, Sagna, Otamendi, Mangala, Clichy, Fernando, Fernandinho, Navas, De Bruyne, Iheanacho, Aguero
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Elneny, Ramsey, Welbeck, Iwobi, Sanchez, Giroud
The biggest news of the day was the absence of Mesut Ozil for the Gunners. The German playmaker was not even named in the squad and missed out with a hip injury. Arsene Wenger started both Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud while Manuel Pellegrini also started with two strikers in Sergio Aguero and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Arsenal waste no time in finding equaliser after City score
The home side put the pedal to the metal right from kickoff and looked the side that wanted to win this one more than the visitors. City had as many as two chances in the first four minutes – the first a corner kick that failed to clear the first man and the second a De Bruyne free-kick that bounced awkwardly in front of Petr Cech before the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball.
However, Sergio Aguero scored in the eighth minute for City to take the lead after controlling a loose ball in the box and taking a low, left-footed shot that beat Cech at the near post. The goal brought the Argentine striker to within one goal of Harry Kane in the goalscoring charts.
But less than two minutes later, Arsenal struck back. Gael Clichy tried to head the ball back to Hart but conceded a corner instead. The delivery from the resulting corner kick found Olivier Giroud unmarked as Mangala lost his marker and the French striker broke his goal drought with a header to make it 1-1.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, and possibly England at the Euros, Danny Welbeck suffered a knee injury when he tried to win the ball off Bacary Sagna near the touchline. The forward seemed to twist his knee and was unable to run it off, immediately walking down the tunnel as Jack Wilshere took his place.
Wilshere himself was not up to scratch after sitting out almost the entire season. The English midfielder repeatedly lost the ball and lost out on 50-50 duels with Fernando even initiating a counter-attack after pinching the ball from him.
De Bruyne and Aguero were running the show for Manchester City with Jesus Navas also chipping in on the right. Nacho Monreal was left to fend for himself with Iwobi not tracking back enough and he had a tough time keeping Navas in check. However, the no more chances on goal were forthcoming in the rest of the half.
Half-time: Man City 1-1 Arsenal
Man City strike early in second half before Arsenal hit back yet again
The Sky Blues looked livelier as the second half kicked off as the Gunners looked happy to sit back and look to counter. Fernandinho almost had a shot on target when he was through but the angle was too tight and his shot was off target.
However, Kevin De Bruyne soon made it 2-1 to City with a solo effort. A botched clearance from Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin saw the Belgian midfielder drive through towards goal before he pulled the trigger from outside the box. The shot was low and beat Cech at the near post yet again. It was the 10th goal the Czech goalkeeper had conceded from outside the box this season.
Soon after the hour mark, Wenger rang in the changes and Iwobi came off for Theo Walcott. The English forward’s introduction seemed to revitalise the Gunners as he and Ramsey combined twice to create goalscoring chances.
Finally, in the 68th minute, Arsenal got their second goal. Alexis Sanchez started and finished the move as he played a one-two with Giroud at the edge of the box. The striker’s lay-off left the Chilean in acres of space and he sent an onrushing Joe Hart the wrong way before taking a shot that found the bottom corner.
The equaliser prompted Pellegrini to make a double substitution and he brought on Wilfried Bony and Yaya Toure. Both looked to make an impact with Toure almost charging through Arsenal’s midfield at one point before Wenger’s substitute Francis Coquelin stopped him in his tracks.
Bony had the best chance to score the winner two minutes before the 90-minute mark when a cross found him unmarked inside the box. The Ivorian striker side-footed a volley goalward with Cech beaten but the shot came off the crossbar, much to Arsenal’s relief. Three minutes were added on but Arsenal held on for a valuable point.
With only relegated Aston Villa to play at home on the final day, the Gunners will be happy with the point. On the other hand, City’s top four hopes now hang on West Ham beating derby rivals Manchester United in their game in hand. Else, it could be out of their hands before the final round of fixtures.
