Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: 1-1 Draw In Excellent Match

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Final Score, Laurent Koscielny Grabs 1-1 Draw For Gunners

Arsenal's solid undefeated run to open the season will continue on for at least one more week. They went down in the first half against Manchester City, but performed well in the second half and grabbed a deserved equalizer at the Ethiad Stadium. Laurent Koscielny scored the Gunners' goal on a corner kick, securing a 1-1 draw.

In the first half, Arsenal had more of the possession and a few clear chances, but failed to make the most of them. In the 13th minute, Keiran Gibbs played ball towards the back post and Lukas Podolski that looked like it caught him between two minds, as it never got too close to either. Gervinho ruined Arsenal's best chance a few minutes later, taking an awful first touch on a great through ball by Aaron Ramsey. It was the first of many squandered chances by Gervinho, who had a poor afternoon.

The first 20 minutes belonged to Arsenal, but Manchester City began to assert themselves and take a bit more control of the game over the next 25. A nice five-minute spell of sustained pressure paid off for City in the 40th minute, when they won a corner kick that led to their only goal. Joleon Lescott scored it with a header after finding a hole between defenders, and Vito Mannone was late to react.

City replaced Scott Sinclair with Jack Rodwell at the half and it was unclear if the switch was fitness-related, tactical, or both. They looked like the better side to start the half, but also looked very content to sit on their lead, which Arsenal eventually took advantage of. The final 20 minutes was all Gunners, and City were lucky to not concede more than once. Arsenal brought Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott off the bench, and the Gunners looked more lively after they came on.

In the 81st minute, Santi Cazorla forced an absolutely brilliant save from Joe Hart with a stinging shot from outside of the penalty area. Unfortunately for City, they couldn't deal with the ensuing corner. After the Gunners' initial effort was blocked, Koscielny jumped on the rebound and scored from close range to equalize.

The final minutes were hectic, with both teams generating chances to win the game. Sergio Aguero missed a good chance in the 85th minute following a save by Mannone on Vincent Kompany. In stoppage time, Gervinho had a brilliant chance to score a famous winner for Arsenal, but sent his shot a mile over the crossbar.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Gunners Draw Level!

Laurent Koscielny's levelled the score at the Etihad! Santi Cazorla won Arsenal a corner with a fizzing shot that Joe Hart was barely able to tip over the crossbar, but the goal was only postponed. Joleon Lescott's attempt at a clearance didn't even make it six yards, hitting Koscielny in the foot. The Arsenal man reacted fastest, steadying himself and nearly basting a hole with the back of the net with a first-class finish into the top corner. It's 1-1!

And then we nearly get a goal at the other end. Vito Mannone makes a great save on a Vincent Kompany bicycle kick (not a typo), and then Koscielny manages to repeat Lescott's tick by hitting a clearance straight to Sergio Aguero. The striker's finish, however, isn't anywhere near as good as the defender's, inching wide of the far post. This game's pretty fun, isn't it? Five minutes to go for someone to find a winner.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Gunners Make Double Sub

It's substitution-o'clock for Arsenal. Now that we're in the 70th minute, Arsene Wenger is allowed to change his team, and he unleashed his pent-up substitutions in one furious flood. Olivier Giroud and and Theo Walcott are the two introduced. Off come Abou Diaby and Lukas Podolski. If Giroud can get a goal for Arsenal now, I think Gunners fans will forgive him for his otherwise slow start to the season.

Meanwhile, Gervinho has forgotten what team he plays for:

Ouchies. there's about a quarter of an hour left at the Etihad Stadium, and although you wouldn't rule out the visitors at this point -- they're only 1-0 down, after all -- Manchester City have been pretty comfortable all half. Maybe the substitutions can change all that. The intent is to threaten the City defence with speed on the right and a focal point in Giroud, but Arsenal are weakening their midfield to do so. This could be interesting now.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Tevez And Balotelli Share A Coat

This is the best part of the second half so far.

So cute. Alas, Carlos Tevez has been pulled out of his shared nest and is now on the pitch for Edin Dzeko. It's still 1-0 to Manchester City, if you were wondering.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Hosts On Top In 2nd Half

It looks like the change Roberto Mancini made to his system at halftime -- namely introducing another central midfielder in order to combat Arsenal's dynamic trio -- has paid off. The visitors aren't holding the ball nearly as well since the interval, and City are pressing superbly.

Sergio Aguero very nearly doubles the hosts' lead after being picked out by David Silva, and despite being knocked off-balance by Laurent Koscielny manages to shoot as he's being knocked down. Said shot is deflected out for a corner, but the Argentinian is furious. He wants a penalty and replays show that he had a very good shout. It's unfortunate that trying to play through a foul stops you getting the calls, but nobody's ever really accused Mike Dean of excess competence, so it is what it is.

Craig Burley's still talking about zonal marking. I thought I'd share the pain. Lukas Podolski takes out his zonal marking rage on Pablo Zabaleta chopping him down in the centre. It should be a yellow card but it isn't, probably because nobody who speaks German can be an evil man.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: 2nd Half Underway

So, 1-0 to Manchester City as we start the second half. Arsenal, remember, are holding onto an undefeated record, and nothing about the first half, when they were at worst evenly matched, will tell Arsene Wenger and company that preserving that record is impossible. City got a chance and took it, but it's the Gunners who've dominated possession in the middle (Jack Rodwell's been introduced in an attempt to rectify that problem) and they've threatened Joe Hart's goal on several occasions.

However, they're not going to get back into this game by playing like that -- Yaya Toure wins the ball high up the pitch following some sloppy play from the Arsenal midfield, and only a poor shot at the end of his driving prevents the City talisman punishing the visitors for their error. The Gunners really can't afford to go 2-0 down here, but if they commit too many men forward they might get caught on the break.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Halftime Score, Citizens Up 1-0

It's been a tough first half for Arsenal at the Ethiad Stadium, where Manchester City are well on top after 45 minutes. The Gunners haven't been awful, but the home side has clearly been the better team, and they have a lead to show for it. A Joleon Lescott header on a corner is the reason City lead 1-0 at halftime.

Arsenal have forced Joe Hart into a couple saves, but their best chances have actually come on opportunities they failed to hit the target with. Gervinho squandered Arsenal's best chance early in the half with an awful first touch after Aaron Ramsey played him into the penalty area perfectly, and Kieran Gibbs pulled a clear chance just wide a bit later on.

The goal came in the 40th minute, and a combination of some poor marking and poor goalkeeping was to blame. Lescott found a space between two Arsenal defenders on a corner and powered a perfect header past Vito Mannone, who was not in a great position and slow to react.

A couple of minutes later, Mannone did a bit of making up for that error by making a great save on a thunderbolt of a shot by Edin Dzeko.

It's been a decent half for Arsenal, who have a good deal of possession, but they've failed to take their chances. They're also struggling to deal with the athleticism and tenacity of Yaya Toure in midfield, but that's hardly a criticism of the Gunners, as he tends to terrorize everyone.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Joleon Lescott Puts Champions Ahead

Oh dear Arsenal. They've been the better team but some catastrophic defending means that they're now trailing to Manchester City at the Emirates. City manage to earn a corner, and Vito Mannone gets nowhere near the ball. A combination of Joleon Lescott and Laurent Koscielny force the ball into the back of the net. Presumably by accident, in the latter's case.

So it's 1-0 City. What do you make of that, Arsene?

Yep, pretty much, Edin Dzeko nearly makes it two with a peach of a strike a few minutes later, but this time Mannone's able to throw himself at the dipping 25-yard shot, tipping it over for another corner. This one's not nearly as dangerous, and Arsenal are able to clear their lines.

The commentators will not shut up about Arsenal's zonal marking system now. 'What happened to man-to-man marking. Responsibility.' STOP. TALKING. He's still going on. Five minutes later. This is pretty much the worst.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Not Much Going On

This game is very good but there's not actually that much going on in the way of chances. Arsenal are pinging it around beautifully but haven't broken through the Manchester City lines since that amusing Gervinho derp early on. It is very pretty to watch, but it'd be nice if someone scored soon.

Santi Cazorla gets a chance at a shot when Vincent Kompany fouls Aaron Ramsey about 30 yards out, but Joe Hart's able to get down to save the free kick. It was going to hit the post anyway. Meanwhile, Scott Sinclair's been something closely approximating useless on the wings (and the centre, for that mater) so far. He's got to step things up if he wants to keep a place in the starting lineup.

If all of these lovely passes are boring you, here's a fun game to occupy your time: Try to spot the Arsenal captain's armband. Hint: It's impossible.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Visitors Winning Midfield Battle

Manchester City, who are struggling so far against Arsenal, are trying to settle the game down and grab hold of possession. It's mostly not working, on account of a simple inequality:

Yaya Toure + Javi Garcia < Mikel Arteta + Abou Diaby + Santi Carzorla.

The rest of the team isn't helping much -- David Silva's been incredibly wasteful so far, which is unlike him, and the Spaniard manages to waste City's best chance by miscontrolling a long ball over the top, leaving Edin Dzeko furious. If Silva's pass had come off, the Bosnian striker was in on goal. At the other end of the pitch, Carl Jenkinson burns the City defence and cuts it back for Lukas Podolski, who blazes over.

Anyway, if I were Roberto Mancini, I'd consider dropping Sergio Aguero back onto Arteta. Arsenal are just far too comfortable on the ball, and having two strikers is only relevant if you have someone to pass to. Still 0-0.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Gunners Dominating, But Wasting Chances

Arsenal are ahving the better of the early exchanges against Manchester City. Gervinho does some excellent work on the left, bursting through the box to the touchline, where his run is thwarted by Joleon Lescott and, eventually, the former Everton man's hand. It's probably a (very harsh) penalty, but play continues and eventually Santi Cazorla picks out Kieran Gibbs' excellent run with a chip over the top of City's defence. Unfortunately for the visitors, the young left back completely wastes the opportunity by playing a blind pass to nobody rather than taking a touch and shooting. Oh well.

There was more Arsenal threat to come, but they manage to sabotage themselves once again. An incisive pass from Aaron Ramsey splits Lescott and Gael Clichy, setting Gervinho away, but the Ivorian's touch is far too heavy and Joe Hart can collect. The Gunners are well on top, but they'll surely regret wasting these early chances. Still 0-0

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Match Underway

Manchester City and Arsenal have kicked off at the Etihad Stadium, and the sides -- both unbeaten in the league so far -- could each do with a win here as they look to chase down Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table. Of course, we missed kickoff because of some kind of Fox Soccer Channel meltdown, but they only took two minutes! Alright! Let's assume that they were the best two minutes of football ever played. I'm sorry y'all missed them.

Don't worry, though, because we didn't miss those minutes in vain! Instead, we got to hear Brian McBride tell us that going travelling to Manchester City (the defending Premier League champions, for those who've managed to forget last yet), is Arsenal's toughest task yet. Priceless analysis, that.

Speaking of priceless analysis, the game -- at least the bits we've been able to see -- is pretty quiet so far. City look like they want to keep play wide and feed Edin Dzeko crosses, but the visitors are doing a decent job holding onto the ball thus far. No chances to speak of.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal: Lineups

It's happy times for Arsenal, who are on a strong run after two straight draws to begin the season. Victories over Liverpool, Southampton and Montpellier have lifted mood at the club, but beating the defending champions away from home will probably remain a bridge too far for the Gunners. Manchester City, meanwhile, will be looking to make up ground having drawn 1-1 against Stoke City last weekend (and losing in heartbreaking fashion at the Santiago Bernabeu in their midweek Champions League game), and a reinvigorated Arsenal are not exactly what they were hoping for.

You'd expect a City win, but it's not going to be easy.

Manchester City starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Joe Hart; Gael Clichy, Joleon Lescott, Vincenet Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta; Yaya Toure, Javi Garcia; Scott Sinclair, David Silva, Sergio Aguero; Edin Dzeko.

Arsenal starting lineup (4-3-3): Vito Mannone; Kieran Gibbs, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Carl Jenkinson; Abou Diaby, Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla; Gervinho, Lukas Podolski, Aaron Ramsey.

Manchester City Vs. Arsenal, 2012 Premier League: Preview And Schedule

Arsenal face their toughest test of the year, at Eastlands against Manchester City.

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