Arsenal FC 3, Manchester City 0: Nasri and Fabianski Sparkle for the Gunners

Arsenal registered their first clean sheet in an away game since January, as they trounced title rivals Manchester City at their home. Samir Nasri, Alex Song and Nicklas Bendtner scored vital goals for the Gunners against Manchester City, who were down to 10 men for most of the game. The three points from the victory moves them to second place, still five points away from title holders Chelsea.

It was expected to be a cracking encounter, and the game began at a frantic pace. Young defender Dedryck Boyata was given a start against the Gunners, and he provided a superb pass to Carlos Tevez in the opening minute. From the resulting cross from Tevez, David Silva could not get power behind his intelligent shot, and Lukasz Fabianski saved confidently. 

Manchester City looked to be running the game until the fourth minute, when Cesc Fabregas provided a superb through ball to release Marouane Chamakh. Boyata was the last defender for City, and Chamakh's experience drew a foul from the youngster. He was given marching orders for the foul, and it set the tone for the feisty encounter. The referee was also correct in awarding a free-kick just on the edge on the box.

The red card was followed by a number of hard tackles and challenges by players from both sides. The referee had little option but to brandish a number of yellow cards. Cesc Fabregas, Gareth Barry, Alex Song, Johan Djourou and Denilson were all booked within the next half hour, as 10-men City showed their resilience.

However, their resilience was short lived, as Samir Nasri opened the scoring for the Gunners in the 20th minute, after Djourou had missed a free header from eight yards out. Nasri has been in excellent form throughout this season, and he showed why he is one of the most important players for Arsenal.

The Gunners' technical brilliance was on show as Nasri and Arshavin exchanged intricate passes before Nasri smashed the goal past Joe Hart, who could do nothing about it.

City tried hard to fight back after the goal but found it tough against the Gunners' number advantage and slick passing. Tevez and Silva combined excellently on more than one occasion but could not find the result. Johan Djourou and Sebastien Squillaci did not look too solid at the back, but they managed to deal with the threat of City's attackers.

Vincent Kompany made an unnecessary challenge on Cesc Fabregas on the edge of the box, and a penalty was awarded to Arsenal in the 41st minute. Arsenal could have put the game to bed had Fabregas scored the penalty, but Hart saved his penalty brilliantly to keep City in the contest.

At half time, Arsenal were a goal up, and had the numbers advantage but had to keep their heads considering they had four players booked in the first half.

Arsenal started off brightly in the second half, and their passing and movement was better, but they were reluctant to take a shot on many occasions. Fabregas' shot after a good passing move was weak and easily saved by Hart, and Chamakh mishit a shot well over the bar, when he did have the space. For all of Arsenal's good work at the start of second half, they would have been demoralised if not for Fabianski.

David Silva weaved his way round the defence, and struck a wonderful shot, which looked destined for the back of the net, but Fabianski did extremely well to divert his shot away to only concede a corner.

Former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor was brought on, early in the second half, to replace Tevez, who picked up an injury. Fabianski's save meant that Arsenal remained in the lead, and three points were ensured when Alex Song scored in the 66th minute.

It was another good passing move which resulted in the goal, though it has to be admitted that Wayne Bridge's poor defending allowed Song to latch on to the ball. Fabregas and Chamakh combined well, and Fabregas tried to release Chamakh , who was in the box, but the ball was behind the striker, and Bridge could only poke it into the way of Song, who finished it with aplomb. 

Manchester City introduced Mario Balotelli late on to inject some pace to the deflated team, but he could not inspire the Citizens, although he forced a fine save from Fabianski.

It was a surprise that Roberto Mancini did not introduce Adam Johnson, considering the England International has been in fine form in this season. Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott were introduced late on for them to gain more playing time to improve their match fitness.

City looked deflated after the second goal, and it was Arsenal who looked likely to add another before the allotted time. Nicklas Bendtner was put through on goal by Nasri, and made no mistake in finishing off the goal. It must have been a boost to the lad's confidence after having missed a large chunk of the season so far due to injury.

Arsene Wenger looked a pleased man at the end of the game, and his team were indicative of the fact that you do not need to spend millions to have a quality team. Cesc Fabregas and his men showed that they are capable of winning a trophy this season. Even without key players like Robin van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal continue to be a force in the Premiership.

There were many positives from this display, which saw the Gunners show what they are capable of. Bendtner scored his first goal of the campaign and will look to build on it in the season, but the two stars of the show were Samir Nasri and Lukasz Fabianski.

Nasri has been electric in this season and proved to be the difference for Arsenal. Fabianski had a disastrous last season but has greatly improved, and this has to be one of his best performances for Arsenal.

Arsenal will meet Newcastle United in the Carling Cup, and Wenger has already indicated that he might field a strong team against the Magpies. This is mainly because some of the players have not had a lot of playing time and they will look to impress Wenger in the cup. With their injury worries slowly dissipating, Arsenal will have the resources to challenge for the title in this season.