As It Happened: Arsenal 0-3 Manchester City

Good evening and welcome to Nigerianeye's live text coverage of the Premier League clash between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.


These two sides met just four days ago when Man City claimed the first major trophy of the season by cruising to a 3-0 win over the Gunners in the EFL Cup final at Wembley.

Arsenal now sit 10 points adrift of the Champions League places too, whereas Man City could restore their 16-point gap at the top of the table this evening.

Make sure you don't miss a moment of the action courtesy of our minute-by-minute updates below.

Right, the players are out on this freezing night at the Emirates, so let's have a quick recap of the team news before we get started...

OFFICIAL LINE-UPS

ARSENAL: Cech; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Welbeck; Aubameyang

MANCHESTER CITY: Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Danilo; Gundogan, De Bruyne, Silva; Bernardo, Sane, Aguero



















A second 3-0 defeat for Arsenal at the hands of Manchester City in the space of just four days, and again boos greet the final whistle as things go from bad to worse for the Gunners.

Wenger's side were blown away in the opening 35 minutes by a devastating Man City performance as they cut through their hosts ruthlessly for all three goals. Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Leroy Sane got on the scoresheet, whereas Arsenal failed to make the most of their chances including a missed penalty from Aubameyang. Thanks for joining our live coverage of the match!


90+2 min FULL TIME: Arsenal 0-3 Manchester City

90+1 min There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this match.

90 min One Arsene Wenger' chant some fans inside the stadium, but I'm not sure whether they are Man City or Arsenal fans. I suspect the former.

88 min Just two minutes remaining in this match now, and the fans and players will be begging for that final whistle. It is freezing in North London.

86 min MAN CITY SUB: A third and final change for Man City here sees Gabriel Jesus replace David Silva.

84 min Arsenal have been better in this second half, but Man City have also taken their foot off the pedal. The hosts have simply been outclassed tonight.

82 min MAN CITY SUB: Another change from the visitors as Yaya Toure replaces Aguero. No landmark goal for Aguero tonight, then!

80 min The snow is swirling around the stadium at the moment, and these can't be particularly good conditions to play football in. I think both sets of players will be happy to hear the final whistle now!

78 min CHANCE! Aguero almost gets that 200th goal as he breaks down the right channel before firing a firm low strike towards the bottom corner. Cech is alert, though, and makes a really smart save.

77 min Man City have only won here once in the last 32 top-flight away games against Arsenal, so this has been a real problem fixture for them down the years - another example of why this is such an impressive result.

75 min A reminder that this result will move Manchester City 30 points ahead of Arsenal. That is a ludicrous gap between two of England's top two teams, and it is as much to do with City's brilliance as Arsenal's poor performances.

73 min Man City were sloppy in the opening 20 minutes or so of this half, but their gam management since has been brilliant. They have completely controlled the last 10 minutes or so.

71 min MAN CITY SUB: Change for the visitors here as Walker is replaced by Oleksandr Zinchenko. Walker is limping a little on his way off, so could be a doubt for the weekend game with Chelsea.

69 min City are beginning to take control of possession again now, knocking it about amongst themselves and just keeping it away from Arsenal.

65 min Just 25 minutes remaining in this match now, and it is looking increasingly unlikely that Arsenal will find a way back into this match. Had they scored that penalty then things may be different, but Ederson's save looks like being crucial here.

63 min Arsenal have actually dominated possession so far in this second half and have been the better team since the interval. City have not been as ruthless going forward, but then again the onus is not on them to attack.

61 min Here is that penalty save from Ederson. Arsenal may well have had a chance to get back into this game had it gone in...

59 min CHANCE! Chance for Aubameyang to make amends here as the ball is lobbed over the top for the striker, who watches it over his shoulder and connects with his difficult first-time volley well. However, he fires it just wide of the target.

57 min This has been a strange game for Arsenal. The scoreline clearly looks bad given their recent form, but with a little more ruthlessness they could be well in this game.

55 min Two moments of madness from both keepers here! The first sees Cech almost caught in possession by De Bruyne, before a long ball forward releases Welbeck. Ederson comes a long way off his line despite Otamendi seemingly having it under control and ends up clattering into his own man.

53 min Was that the chance for Arsenal to salvage anything from this game?

The hosts win a penalty as Otamendi gets the wrong side of Mkhitaryan and catches the Arsenal man with a clumsy swipe at the ball inside the box. Andre Marriner points to the spot but doesn't deem the offence worthy of a second yellow card.

Aubameyang steps up, but his penalty lacks power and isn't perfectly placed, allowing Ederson to get across and make a good save.


53 min SAVED! AUBAMEYANG MISSES FOR ARSENAL!

52 min PENALTY TO ARSENAL!

50 min Some chants of 'Come on Arsenal!' rung around the Emirates Stadium. The fans, who booed their team off at half time, are at least trying to raise their spirits now.

48 min It will be interesting to see how Man City approach this second half too. They can afford to take their foot off the pedal a little with Chelsea waiting for them on Sunday, but they could look to make a statement here instead.

46 min KICKOFF: Man City get us back underway at the Emirates. Can Arsenal salvage anything from this game?


Arsenal have actually played much better than they did in the EFL Cup final, but they have come up against a magnificent City side in top form here. They have been ruthless tonight and have surely killed the game off already.


45+2 min HALF TIME: Arsenal 0-3 Manchester City

45+1 min SAVE! Xhaka thumps another long-range effort towards goal, and again it is a good hit, but it is straight at Ederson who again holds on to it.

45 min Brilliant block from Otamendi here as he throws himself in the way of a flick from Welbeck, who had got on the end of a Mkhitaryan cross.

44 min Arsenal are ending this half quite well too, and on another night they could have had one or two goals. They have just come up against a City side on top, top form tonight.

42 min Almost a chance for Arsenal again here as Ramsey surges forward once again. Neither he, Aubameyang or Ozil can get a clean shoot away, though.

41 min The statistics are fairly damning for Arsenal at the moment...

39 min CHANCE! City just look like scoring every time they come forward now. This time a cross from the left finds Aguero at the near post and you'd expect him to score from this position, but Cech thwarts him with a good save.

38 min SHOT! Arsenal still look capable of causing problems going forward and Ramsey finds space to shoot here, but his effort is blocked by Danilo.

37 min Here is that second goal from Silva, and the brilliant team play which led up to it.

35 min The boos were raining down from the home fans after that third goal, and they are now cheering when Arsenal get the ball back. Things are looking very bleak for the hosts right now.

33 min This is so ruthless from Manchester City. They have been incredible going forward tonight, and it is another world-class team goal here.

Aguero turns away from his marker and bursts forward before giving the ball to De Bruyne, who in turn plays it through to Walker down the right. Sane darts to the near post in the middle and gets on the end of the cross at the same time as Bellerin. However, the ball deflects past Cech and into the bottom corner.

33 min GOAL! Arsenal 0-3 Manchester City (Leroy Sane)

32 min YELLOW CARD! Kolasinac becomes the first Arsenal player in the book for a late challenge on Gundogan.

30 min This is a big 15 minutes before half time for Arsenal. The few fans who have turned up may start to turn on the team if things get any worse, and City seem to be in a merciless mood tonight.

28 min Oh dear, oh dear. It is harsh on Arsenal, but Manchester City are simply devastating here, doubling their lead in ruthless fashion.

Again Sane is heavily involved with a brilliant turn which again leaves his marker for dead on his way down the left flank. His cross picks out Aguero, who in turn puts it into the path of Silva. Silva's touch is perfect and he then sweeps his finish past Cech.

28 min GOAL! Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City (David Silva)

28 min Here is that opening goal, including a mesmerising run from Sane to set it all up...

26 min De Bruyne whips it into the box but it is just too far in front of Aguero, who can't get a touch. Cech fumbles it, but the flag is up against Aguero anyway.

26 min Silly challenge from Xhaka as he goes in late on Aguero, committing a foul and giving away a free kick in a good crossing position.

24 min We could have a very good game on our hands tonight. Arsenal have not let their heads drop following that Bernardo Silva goal and have looked far more likely to get the game's next goal since falling behind.

22 min CHANCE! Arsenal have responded really well to going behind! Bellerin breaks forward down the right flank and pulls a low ball into the box which Ramsey collects. It is a little behind him, but he manages to get a good shot away which Ederson does really well to hold on to.

20 min SAVE! The resulting free kick is a long way out, but that never seems to stop Xhaka from trying his luck. This is a good strike from him, but Ederson turns it around the post for a corner.

19 min YELLOW CARD! Arsenal look to hit back quickly and launch a good counter-attack which eventually comes to an end when Otamendi bodychecks Welbeck. The Argentine gets a yellow card for his challenge.

17 min That will be such a blow for Arsenal, who had started this match pretty well. They were undone by a moment of brilliance from Sane, but Bernardo was always going to cut inside onto his left so Kolasinac should have done better.

15 min Out of nothing, Man City break the deadlock in some style!

It is brilliant from Sane as he darts away from four Arsenal players, getting himself out of a tight situation before driving forward and feeding the ball out to Bernardo Silva. The winger collects it and then cuts inside onto his left foot before curling a fine finish past Cech and into the top corner.

15 min GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 Manchester City (Bernardo Silva)

13 min SAVE! Ederson is called into action again here as Mkhitaryan drives a low strike towards goal, but it is a comfortable one for the Brazilian keeper.

11 min This has been a good, even encounter so far. Man City are not dominating anywhere near as much as they did in the EFL Cup final, with Arsenal eager to respond.

9 min SHOT! City immediately break down the other end, but Aguero's touch takes him wide and he slams his eventual shot into the side-netting.

8 min CLOSE! City need a stroke of luck to stay level here! Ramsey latches on to a clever pass from Mkhitaryan before reaching the byline and pulling a low ball back into the box. Kompany clears it at the near post, but fires the ball straight into the chest of Ederson, who then collects. That could have gone anywhere!

7 min Ederson is alert here, and he has to be. Ramsey slides a pass into the box which Aubameyang is interested in, but Ederson sweeps up the danger.

5 min Arsenal will be relatively happy with the start they have made to this match, and they already look more capable of causing City problems tonight than they did at Wembley. Still very early days, though.

3 min There are an awful lot of empty seats at the Emirates Stadium this evening, which is no doubt down to the weather but could also be a reflection of Arsenal's recent poor form.

1 min KICKOFF: Here we go, then! Arsenal get us underway at the Emirates!