After the past two results, many Gooners feared the worst against a Manchester City side in a good position to win the title. But after a poor start, Arsenal recovered well to get a 1-1 draw.
Wojciech Szczesny - 6 – There was nothing drastically wrong with the Pole. But his kicking was mediocre, and he made a couple of uncharacteristic handling errors. One worries that he's beginning to suffer from some mental fatigue.
Bacary Sagna – 8 – A solid first-half, but Sagna was arguably the game's best player in the second 45 minutes. Was the main outlet for much of Arsenal's attacking play, both on the ground, and in the air. Put in a series of superb crosses from the right-hand side.
Per Mertesacker – 7 – The German was a huge factor in Arsenal not collapsing after conceding early. For the most part he kept Edin Dzeko quiet, and his faultless positioning meant he was often in the right place to make important clearances (11 in total).
Thomas Vermaelen – 7 – He probably should have taken more responsibility to help Kieran Gibbs in the game's early exchanges. However, he settled as the game progressed, and assisted Mertesacker ably in dealing with Dzeko.
Kieran Gibbs – 6 – Started poorly, but was left horribly exposed, having to deal with 3 players on occasion. But he didn't do enough on the City goal. He ran tirelessly as Arsenal improved in the second-half, but found it tough going against Jesus Navas.
Mathieu Flamini – 7 – Didn't have a good defensive game, but his role changed on about the 30 minute mark, where he played a shuttling midfield role, bursting from box-to-box. It helped alter the narrative of the contest, and it was Flamini who made the key intervention with a well taken equaliser.
Mikel Arteta – 7 – The Spaniard has struggled in these high-profile games, but this was an improved display. He managed to avoid being swamped in the centre of the pitch, and helped Arsenal seize the midfield, with an 89% pass success rate, and finding the mark with all of his long passes.
Santi Cazorla – 7 – Was unable to find a way through a light-blue wall of City players in the first-half. But he became more influential, as his long passing helped kick Arsenal's attacking play into life (5 from 5 finding their target). He had more touches than any other player, and by the closing stages, he was the most dangerous player on the pitch.
Tomas Rosicky – 6 – Rosicky was always a willing presence, but his energy was more unfocused than usual, as he tended to give the ball away in the final third, and looked a bit leggy as the match drew to a close.
Lukas Podolski – 7 – Defensively, Podolski was awful in the first-half, often leaving Gibbs far too exposed. But he was Arsenal's best attacking force for much of the match, assisting Flamini for the equaliser, and was unlucky to not score the winner, being denied by a good save from Joe Hart.
Olivier Giroud – 6 – Giroud struggled in the first-half, with City squeezing a lot of the space he likes to operate in. He was a more willing target in the second-half, playing a role in Flamini's goal. But he never looked much like scoring.
SUBS
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – N/A – Gave directness, without really threatening.
Yaya Sanogo – N/A – Won a couple of headers late on.
While Arsenal still have weaknesses, their second-half riposte shows that there's a stronger resilience in this squad than in previous years. It was an excellent game, and Arsenal were entitled to be slightly disappointed not to win. However, the performance could prove important for the rest of the campaign, as a top 4 spot, and the FA Cup are still the main targets for this season.
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