Killer touch deserts Gunners once again
This was always likely to be a case of beauty and the beast and so it proved. Arsenal dominated, weaving intricate patterns and carving out scoring opportunities while City defended in depth.
The problem, as far as the Gunners was concerned, was a familiar one, however. They lacked a cutting edge and despite hitting the woodwork three times in the first half, they couldn’t find a killer touch.
City, on the other hand, defended superbly and hold onto second place, two points ahead of Wenger’s side who have a game in hand.
The late dismissal of Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta for an episode of handbags came too late to affect the outcome, and succeeded only in fuelling Arsenal’s sense of indignation at being denied.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger agreed with his City counterpart Mancini that the two red cards could have been avoided.
Wenger said: “They looked harsh to me, for both of them. I would have to look at it again.
“I thought it was a foul for Sagna, and then they just bumped into each other’s head. You can give it, you can not give it... I thought it could be yellow cards but unfortunately it was two reds.”
Wenger felt City had come to the Emirates looking for a point but took positives from his side’s display.
“In the end the positive is that we kept a clean sheet. Of course, the frustration is that we didn’t score. Overall, I feel the way we dominated the game is very positive and we have to rely on our game and keep going.
“I feel we had more chances than you usually have in this type of game.
“They looked to me like they were set up not to lose. For me, they were happy with 0-0.
“I don’t criticise them for that because they defended well and they deserve credit for that.”
The home supporters chanted ‘boring boring City’ and they had a point. The main point, though, was that Mancini couldn’t have cared less.
“They had good chances in the first 15-20 minutes,” he said. “After that they had good possession but didn’t have more chances to score.
“In the second half we played better but I think four games in 10 days is very hard and today we were missing important players.
“We wanted to win but Arsenal played better than us, maybe. We defended very well in the second half. If we came here with all players I think it could have been another game but four games, 10 points in 10 days is good. I think it was important not to lose this game.”
Once again it was Carlos Tevez who was asked to do the hard work up front alone, but the Argentinean’s efforts were enough to unsettle the Arsenal defence and help create City’s first opening in the second minute when James Milner flashed a shot wide.
By then, though, Arsenal had already created the first chance in an explosive start to the game when Jack Wilshere flashed a low ball across the face of Joe Hart’s goal.
The tone had been set for a frantic opening. Wilshere twice found himself with a clear sight of goal, firing powerfully straight into the arms of Hart before later miscuing when in a good position 12 yards out.
But Robin van Persie went even closer to drawing first blood when his neat turn wrong-footed Kolo Toure, allowing the Holland international to drill a left foot shot against the post.
Arsenal were dominating the game in exhilarating style, attacking with pace down either flank. The only thing missing was a goal although Wenger was entitled to ponder what more his side had to do to find a way past Hart who led a charmed life, and received no little help from his woodwork.
Fabregas emulated van Persie in the 28th minute, finding space on the edge of the City area and powering a drive that struck the left hand post and Walcott followed suit when he struck the rebound first time against the other upright.
Such moments can transform the momentum of the game and while City hardly began to dominate, they did appear lifted by the let-off.
The second half reverted to type, however, with Arsenal largely camped out in their opponents half. Not for the first time at the Emirates Stadium, however, there weren’t enough home players willing to commit to getting on the end of a decent ball in.
Van Persie tested Hart from distance, producing a good save from the England keeper but otherwise the City number one was given too little to do by a side intent on restating their claims to be potential champions.
Arsenal subs: Bendtner for Wilshere (81 mins), Arshavin for Walcott (68)
Man City subs: Boateng for Tevez (90), Adam Johnson for Jo (64).
Referee: Mike Jones.
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