Arsenal 0, Man City 0: Fabregas Excels, but Gunners Drop Points at Emirates

Arsenal would not be satisfied with the 0-0 result, considering that they were the ones who created most of the chances in the game. On the other hand, Manchester City would be happy with the point and will look to push on from here.

Arsene Wenger lamented the opposition’s defensive tactics, while Roberto Mancini said that he had to ensure his team did not lose the game.

The Gunners were out of the blocks in a flash and created numerous chances in the opening 10 minutes of the game. Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas all had half chances but could not convert.

After the initial burst, Robin van Persie weaved past his marker to create space to shoot in his second start in as many matches. Unfortunately, he could only hit the base of the post—a sign of things to come for the Gunners on the day.

Cesc Fabregas then did brilliantly to find space and shoot at goal, but he could only hit the post with Joe Hart completely beaten. On the rebound, Theo Walcott could do not better even though he was playing from an off sides position.

Manchester City looked threatening on set-pieces, and it took good defending by Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny to clear the danger from free-kicks. It was clear that City had a plan to play counter-attacking football, but they struggled to get behind the Arsenal defence.

Manchester City missed the creativity and pace of David Silva, who has the ability to break down defences. Yaya Toure proved a threat with his direct attacking runs and did well on a lot of occasions yet failed to create many more opportunities.

Carlos Tevez worked hard as ever but lacked support from his attacking teammates, remaining isolated for large parts of the game.

In the second half, it was Arsenal again who looked for the opener. They were really close when Robin van Persie released a shot to the upper left corner from just outside the box, but spectacular play by Hart prevented the ball from entering the net. Vincent Kompany and Kolo Toure did very well in defence and stood firm when Arsenal got many players into the box.

Theo Walcott’s pace skinned Pablo Zabaleta on a couple of occasions, but the experienced defender was up to the task of sticking close to the England International. Samir Nasri could not exert an influence in the game as Micah Richards and James Milner both kept Nasri quiet, which was essential considering his form of late.

At the end of the day, City would be happy staying in second place, while the Gunners would consider it to be two points dropped at home. Wenger and his men will have to be consistent to mount a good title challenge, while the Citizens will believe that they have the squad to be successful over the season.

Though they could be disappointed with the result, Arsenal had a solid performance. It does seem like the combination of Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou seems to be the best option for the Gunners after securing their second consecutive clean sheet.

Also, Koscielny has improved a lot from the start of the season and is starting to look like a quality defender. With the return of Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal will be a stronger unit and still have a good chance of winning the title.

It was a extremely hard game for the Gunners, considering that City only wanted a point from the game. These are the sorts of games, however, that they need to win in order to be close to the top.

There were some positives from this game, such as the return to form of Robin van Persie. With easier fixtures approaching, Arsenal should try to maximize their advantage.

This article is also featured on The Invincible Gunners, a blog on Arsenal and other football news.