Arsenal Draw Away to Manchester City

After Saturday's results, Arsenal went into their game with Manchester City in sixth place in the Premier League. A win would have brought them back to third, but City had a very good home record. They had won 18 of their 19 home games last season and started this season with two more home wins as well.

Arsene Wenger wasn't expected to make too many changes to a team which won 2-1 away to Montpellier in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but he did.

One change was enforced upon him, though. Thomas Vermaelen had to withdraw through illness. He was replaced by Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal's best defender last season. I wasn't too worried about his ability to cope with whatever City had to offer him. 

The other change to the team was the inclusion of Aaron Ramsey on the right-hand side of Arsenal's attacking trio. The player to miss out was Olivier Giroud, as Gervinho took up the central-striking duties for Ramsey. 

From the start, Arsenal assumed control of possession and played some very good football. There were a couple of excellent chances for Arsenal in the first half, but, unfortunately, they failed to take them. 

The first opportunity fell to Gervinho when he was played-in on by Joe Hart, but his touch was too heavy and Hart collected the ball. The next chance came when Kieran Gibbs got behind the City defence on the other side but his cut back couldn't find an Arsenal player. I thought he could have taken the ball down and shot himself, but it wasn't to be. 

City had a couple of chances of their own, but none of them were as good as the one Gervinho spurned.

With halftime approaching, City won a corner when Gibbs headed the ball out under no pressure. It appeared as if he didn't get a call he was expecting and he wasn't happy. 

When the corner kick came in, it was met by Joleon Lescott's head and was thundered into the net. Vito Mannone tried to come for the corner kick, but he failed to make it. Lukas Podolski was on post duty but he couldn't keep it out either. It was a blow to Arsenal. Still, it was important they got to halftime with only a one-goal deficit.

Only a short while later, Mannone made up for his lapse by tipping over an excellent attempt by Edin Dzeko. Although Arsenal had played the better football in the first half, City had the advantage. 

There were so many positives in the first half it's hard to list them all. Arsenal controlled the game in midfield and City knew they had to somehow counter. Scott Sinclair was withdrawn at halftime by City with Jack Rodwell taking his place. 

It was clear in the second half that City weren't going to let Arsenal have possession in midfield. They closed Arsenal down quicker and Arsenal found it harder to assert themselves as much. There didn't seem to be a way back at that stage, as the game lost some momentum.

With 20 minutes left, Wenger brought Giroud and Theo Walcott on for Abou Diaby and Lukas Podolski. Gradually, Arsenal began to exert some control again and City dropped further back. They were still a real threat on the break, but they were happy to soak up whatever Arsenal had to throw at them. 

With 10 minutes left, Santi Cazorla found some space outside the area and unleashed a great right-footed shot. Hart made an excellent save and Arsenal had to be content with a corner kick. It looked like their best chance of an equaliser might have been gone. 

When the corner kick came, it was only half-cleared. It fell to Koscielny 12 yards out. He blasted the ball into the top corner to give Arsenal the goal they deserved. The players were thrilled and the fans who had made the long trip were overjoyed, too. 

Only a short while later, City almost won the game, but they were kept out by a combination of good goalkeeping and a little bit of luck, too.

An overhead shot by Vincent Kompany was saved by Mannone but the resulting clearance by Koscielny was miscued straight to the feet of Sergio Aguero, only a few yards out. Somehow or other, he contrived to miss his effort, but possibly Koscielny's challenge was enough to put him off. 

Suddenly, Arsenal sensed that they could go one step further and take all three points from the match. More good play ended, with Gervinho excellently making room for a shot 20 yards out and then blazing it high and wide. It typified his afternoon, as nothing really seemed to work for him. 

In the end, a draw was a fair result, but Arsenal gets credit for going to the champions and taking the game to them. It was City who had to change things around to cope with Arsenal, not the other way around. Even when they were trailing, the players didn't give up and they got their rewards in the end. 

Some of the Arsenal players had great games. Yet again, Per Mertesacker showed he just has to be on the team. Both full-backs were very good defensively and offer an awful lot going forward, too. Koscielny looked good in his first game this season.

Wenger has some tough choices to make very soon. 

I thought Ramsey was excellent in the first half but he faded in a wide role in the second. His game improved again, though, when Diaby went off and he moved into the centre of midfield for the last 20 minutes. Mikel Arteta was so solid yet again. His discipline in the defensive midfield role is great to watch. 

With yet another fantastic game, Cazorla showed exactly why Arsenal were so anxious to sign him. Looking at yesterday's game, you would never think David Silva was the current member of the World and European champions ahead of Cazorla. With him on the team, Arsenal are a force to be reckoned with and, hopefully, they can get even more out of him. 

The players will now get a well-earned rest ahead of their game with Chelsea next weekend.

Arsenal will, of course, play in the Capital One Cup, but it will be a chance for reserves and fringe players to show what they can do. Coventry City haven't had the greatest start to life in League One, but I'm sure they will give all they have against Arsenal.

Arsenal and City were the two teams who had completed the most passes in the league before yesterday's game. Next up, Arsenal play the team who share the best defence ranking along with them.

It's a tough week for them, with Premier League games against the current champions followed by the current European champions. It's a challenge the players are looking increasingly like they are relishing more game by game.

It's a long way from where Arsenal are now to winning a league title, but the signs are very promising at the moment.

This time last season, Arsenal had four points in the league and had conceded 14 goals. There are still a few issues to be sorted out in the team, but the prospect of the team getting even better is one I'm looking forward to.

The next home game for Arsenal in the Premier League—after Chelsea this Saturday—will be on the last Saturday in October against QPR. It's a game I'm hoping to go to as I haven't been to see them, yet, this season. I should know on Thursday morning for certain, but I'm pretty sure there will be no problems getting tickets.

I can't wait to see this Arsenal team playing live and get the chance to cheer them on in person. Of course, the customary before and after game refreshments will be required, but that's all part of the experience. It's an experience which will, hopefully, feel all the sweeter with a team genuinely challenging for trophies to watch.

Here's the highlights of yesterday's game.