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.



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