City succumbed to a poor 2-0 loss at home to Arsenal in a game that severely damaged their title credentials and allowed Chelsea to open up a five point gap at the top of the table.
Sergio Aguero was back starting for The Blues after he made a cameo in last week’s draw against Everton, as was Vincent Kompany, who partnered Martin Demichelis in the middle of defence. Edin Dzeko also managed to pass his late fitness test and earned a place on the bench.
The first half started reasonably well, with Navas able to get at Monreal down the right, and Koscielny picking up a booking in the first few minutes for a stupid foul on Fernandinho. However, it didn’t take long for the tide to turn and for Arsenal to gain the upper hand on possession. They passed it around well, and looked much sharper than a sluggish Blues side.
Eventually on 24 minutes, their superiority resulted in them taking the lead thanks to a Santi Cazorla penalty. Kompany was the offending Blue, as he brought down Monreal, which was enough for Mike Dean to award a contentious penalty. Cazorla stepped up, and whilst Hart got close, he couldn’t keep the penalty out.
Arsenal continued in that vein of form, keeping the ball well whilst City stood static, refusing the close the visitors down for much of the first half. City eventually picked up in the closing minutes of the half, but didn’t trouble Ospina.
In the opening minutes of the second half, The Blues came close to getting back into the game when they were able to put pressure on Arsenal. However, no chance really threatened, and the closest they came was probably a low cross flashed across the face of goal, which was deflected away from an Aguero foot by an Arsenal leg.
It didn’t take long for The Gunners to regain their position as the dominant team in the game. City struggled to keep the ball for long periods, which allowed Arsenal a lot more of the possession than they should have had. Arsenal looked a particular threat through Sanchez and Cazorla, who found it easy to twist and turn their way through the City midfield.
They eventually doubled their lead at a time when it looked like City might get back into it, thanks to another set piece. Santi Cazorla had a free-kick on Arsenal’s left side, and he was able to cross it in high towards Giroud, who pulled away from his marker to nod past Joe Hart for two.
The introduction of Stevan Jovetic threatened to give City a way back into the game, but the attacking intent wasn’t really there and Ospina ended up with little to do apart from collect poor corners; City corners aren’t good at the best of the times, but Sunday was an exceptionally poor day for corners.
Arsenal threatened to get another goal as City started to tire, but eventually the referee called time on a tough afternoon for The Blues. It now leaves them five points behind Chelsea, with the next league game a trip to Stamford Bridge in two weeks. And everyone will be looking forward to that.
