Arsenal vs. Manchester City: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

Arsenal beat Manchester City, 3-1, in a friendly Saturday afternoon in Helsinki, Finland.

It's a bit rare that you see two Premier League clubs facing off in a friendly so close to the season kicking off, so you sometimes had to remind yourself this was only a friendly and not to get too carried away.

The Gunners wasted little time in getting on the board. In the ninth minute, Aaron Ramsey found Theo Walcott with a sublime through ball, allowing the winger to chip it over Joe Hart for the goal.

Arsenal's Twitter account gave a lot of credit for the goal to Ramsey.

City nearly found a goal out of nothing in the 17th minute. Wojciech Szczesny failed to deal with a cross into the box. Alvaro Negredo got a head on it and created a chance for himself. With the goal gaping open, Laurent Koscielny recovered to clear the shot off the line and remove any danger.

In the 23rd minute, Bacary Sagna surprised just about everybody, including Bacary Sagna, when he had a left-footed shot from long range force Hart into a sprawling save.

The first half was a rather stilted affair. The referee blew for a lot of fouls, leading to many stoppages in play. Neither side could create much along the lines of an attacking movement.

Arsenal, in particular, struggled to get past the combination of Yaya Toure and Fernandinho. NBC Sports' Robbie Mustoe hearkened back to a duo of the Gunners' past when referring to the play of City's two central midfielders.

Negredo had a good effort on goal in the 55th minute. His shot just went wide across goal after some nice play between Jesus Navas and David Silva. It was a good example of what City could be capable of in terms of creating an attacking move so quickly; however, their players lacked the edge in the final third.

Just as City was starting to assert themselves, Arsenal struck again. This time it was the other way around as it was Walcott setting up Ramsey, who finished off what was a nice bit of passing from the Gunners in the 59th minute.

It was the kind of goal you love to see if you're an Arsenal supporter.

Arsenal posted a picture of the celebrations.

Then, just three minutes later, Olivier Giroud put the Gunners up 3-0. If Ramsey's goal was what you've come to expect from an Arsene Wenger-coached team, Giroud's goal was the antithesis of Arsenal's style. Walcott launched a 40-yard ball forward from the right half. Giroud got in behind the defence, took a touch or two and flicked a shot over an on-rushing Hart.

At the very least, it was a beautiful route-one goal, as French football journalist Philippe Auclair liked the long ball from Walcott.

The three-goal lead allowed Arsenal to sit back and protect their lead. They had been so good defensively that that was the last thing Manchester City needed. City had a hard enough time creating chances when they were down one goal. When they surrendered the third goal, you knew this match was over.

Negredo was able to get one back in the 79th minute after a nice bit of play in pushing off Koscielny and getting in behind the back four.

All in all, it was an encouraging performance for Arsenal. The Arseblog points out the problem with this club. They have a good core, but until some moves are made in the transfer window, the Gunners will struggle to move forward.

On the other side, it's clear Manuel Pellegrini is still going to need some time for all of his signings to fully bed in.

Key Player Grades

Theo Walcott: A+

Luis who? Why go out and buy Luis Suarez when you have a forward like Theo Walcott?

In all seriousness, Walcott was superb for Arsenal in this match. He's still probably more of a winger than he is a forward, but he showed a lot of skill in this match. His chip for the first goal of the match was a nice bit of finishing and exactly what you want to see from Walcott.

Even better were his assists for Arsenal's next two goals. He displayed some quick thinking in finding Ramsey for the second goal, and his long ball forward to Olivier Giroud was a thing of beauty.

Aaron Ramsey: A

This could well be the year when Aaron Ramsey puts it all together. He finished the 2012-13 campaign very strong and has looked good in preseason. There's no question Arsenal need him to make that step up in the coming season.

If Ramsey looks like he did against Manchester City, the Gunners will be in business. The 22-year-old was composed on the ball and picked his passes out well. His assist for Theo Walcott's goal was sublime.

Joe Hart: C-

One on hand, it's hard to blame Joe Hart too much for Arsenal's goals. He was let down by his defence and left by himself to stop the oncoming striker.

On the other, Hart should have done better, especially on Giroud and Ramsey's goals. He waited that split second to get off his line, and it cost him dearly.

It wasn't the kind of performance you want your starting goalkeeper to have this close to the season.

What's Next

Arsenal start their Premier League season in a week's time against Aston Villa. Manchester City meet Newcastle on August 19 for their first match of the league season.