Manchester City 0 Arsenal 2
Cazorla 23 (Pen) Giroud 66At last Arsenal have won away from home in a big game against a one of their title rivals. Who would have thought that when they conceded six at the Etihad Stadium last season?
Their 2-0 victory over Manchester City this afternoon was one
full of discipline, resolve and professionalism, not exactly words you would
have associated with the Arsenal side which were leaking goals in these sort of
fixtures last season.
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| Olivier Giroud celebrates Arsenal's second goal |
This was a team reformed from the one which lost 6-3 to City
in this fixture last season and it was clear that Arsène Wenger had learnt from
his previous mistakes.
Arsenal didn’t beat City, the premier league Champions, by
playing the traditional “Arsenal way” under Wenger. They left the Etihad having
had just 35% possession, it’s hard to think of a time they had less, yet
ultimately they got the job done.
They were compact in midfield, sharp on the counter attack and
astutely stopped the likes of David Sliva and Sergio Aguero in City’s boisterous
and at times lethal attack.
Santi Cazorla never stopped running and his energy in midfield
epitomized Arsenal’s performance. He converted a penalty after 23 minutes to
set the visitors on their way; his pinpoint free kick onto the head of Olivier
Giroud to set up Arsenal’s second was simply the icing on the cake.
But this wasn’t just about one man and was a day where many
Arsenal players stepped into the plate in a battling workmanlike performance. Francis
Coquelin was unmovable in front of the back four; Laurent Koscielny brought a
calming influence to the defence. But perhaps the most impressive thing of all
was that keeper David Ospina barely had a shot to save; it was the type of game
where everyone played their part.
“We played high up in their half (of the pitch)and very deep
in our half and it worked well because we wanted to make space very tight
especially in front of the box where Silva is so influential and we did it well.”
Said Wenger after the match.
In contrast this was a denting result for City who now find themselves
five points adrift from leaders Chelsea in the race for the title, making the
game between the top two at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight’s time even more important
for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
“We must be clear that we didn’t play well” said Pellegrini
after the game “We had a lot of possession and recovered the ball well but
after that we didn’t have the ideas to be a creative team against a team like
Arsenal who defended very well.”
The hosts were behind inside 23 minutes when Arsenal full
back Nacho Monreal broke forward from and attempted a quick give and go with
Giroud inside the City area. When the return pass came his way he was blocked
by Vincent Kompany and referee Mike Dean pointed straight to the spot. Joe Hart may have guessed the right way but
Carzorla’s penalty was hard, low and out of reach.
City’s response was to throw on Stevan Jovetic in place of
James Milner at half time, within a minute of the restart they’d had their
first shot on target when Aguero cut in onto his left foot forcing Ospina to
turn the ball wide.
The muted City attacks were beginning to pick up steam, on
50 minutes Jesus Navas’ stinging shot had to be beaten away by Ospina, nine
minutes later City’s Spanish winger flashed a low cross across the penalty area
where Koscielny made a crucial touch to prevent Aguero scoring an equaliser.
For a 10 minute spell the game abruptly became end to end,
Ramsey could have doubled Arsenal’s lead after a measured Arsenal counter
attack however the Welsh midfielder blazed over the cross bar from inside the
area. In their bid for an equaliser City turned to the services of Frank
Lampard who replaced Fernandinho on 62 minutes.
Nevertheless the deficit was doubled four minutes later. Cazorla’s
free kick into the heart of the City box oozed with quality and Giroud was on
hand to flick his header past Hart after escaping the weak marking from City
midfielder Fernando.
Even for City at the Etihad this had become a mountainous task,
with one last throw of the dice Pellegrini through on Edin Dzeko to try to salvage
a point but the newly formed Arsenal were proving a tough nut to crack.
Navas’ tame shot was comfortably saved by Ospina before
Jovetic scuffed an effort wide inside the Arsenal’s penalty area but that was as
close as it got and Arsenal closed out a memorable victory.
Man Of The Match : Santi Cazorla
