Premier League Match Review: Manchester City save a point against Arsenal; at no. 2 on league table
As Manchester United increased their lead to three points on top of the table, the second and third-placed teams, Manchester City and Arsenal, clashed against each other in order to narrow the gap. It was their second meeting of
the 2010-11 Barclays Premier League season. In their first clash, Arsenal humiliated Manchester City in front of their home crowd. Therefore, Arsenal were the clear favourites in this tie, which was going to be played in their own backyard.
However, despite dominating the first half, Arsenal drew level with the visitors in the end. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Robin-van-Persie-c31380 and Cesc Fabregas hit the woodwork as luck also played against Arsenal. City were also assisted by Joe Hart, who produced
a couple of good saves to save a point for his team. Both teams finished the match with ten men as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bacary-Sagna-c7148 were shown straight red cards for an unnecessary clash on the sidelines.
Arsene Wenger, the manager of Arsenal, played a strong side against Manchester City, with Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie leading the attack. There were some tactical changes, however, as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Samir-Nasri-c32360
was pushed to the left-hand side rather than at the centre of the attack.
On the other hand, Roberto http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nigel-de-Jong-c27882, Yaya
Toure and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/James-Milner-c17706 were present which gave Manchester City strength and some defensive options in the midfield area.
Arsenal had better chances throughout the game with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Theo-Walcott-c34873 looking particularly dangerous on the right-hand side. In the early minutes, Arsenal had a chance but Jack Wilshere’s pass could not reach the feet of Van Persie.
City tried to hit Arsenal on the break but the Gunners came back quickly and defended the counterattack. In the ninth minute, Persie had a shot from the edge of City’s box. With goalkeeper http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Joe-Hart-c18699 beaten, the right hand post came to the rescue of Manchester
City.
The match started on a high tempo which created problems for Manchester City. The plan of getting an early lead did not work for Wenger as Arsenal failed to create enough spaces as City defended well. In the 28th minute,
Arsenal had another chance but this time Cesc Fabregas was the one who hit the bottom of the same post. The rebound dropped to Theo Walcott, whose shot again hit the opposite post. However, the goal would not have stayed because the offside flag had been raised
against the Englishman.
Arsenal had a penalty shout as well when Walcott’s cross hit the arm of City’s defender http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vincent-Kompany-c36184. However, rather than pointing towards the spot, the referee gave only a corner. The first half ended goalless with Arsenal
dominating for a better part. However, City looked threatening on set-pieces as Arsenal really struggled to clear the ball.
The second half started well for Arsenal, once again, but a breakthrough could not be found. Van Persie had a strong shot towards a right of Joe Hart, but the English No. 1 had a diving save to deny the Dutchman. Arsenal made some
changes and brought on http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nicklas-Bendtner-c27726 but even they were unable to break the deadlock. Arsenal’s frustration was obvious when in the 89th minute, Sagna and Zabaleta had a clash on the sidelines. Television replays showed that
it was Sagna who provoked the incident but the referee showed no hesitation in sending off both the players for misconduct.
In the end, the match was a goalless draw but it turned out to be more exciting than the result suggested. This result has given Manchester United a good lead on top of the table and they can relax now for a brief time.
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