Live Commentary: Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal

Good afternoon and welcome to Nigerianeye's live coverage of the Premier League clash between Manchester City and Arsenal from the Etihad.


Arsenal currently sit one point and one place above fourth-place Man City in the table and the two teams are chasing down Chelsea at the summit. Man City have lost two of their last three in the league, but will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 victory over Watford at the Etihad on Wednesday night.

Arsenal, meanwhile, suffered just their second league defeat of the season away to Everton on Tuesday night and the Gunners currently sit nine points behind the league leaders Chelsea.

OFFICIAL LINE-UPS

MANCHESTER CITY: Bravo; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Kolarov, Clichy; Fernando; Sane, Toure, Silva, Sterling; De Bruyne

ARSENAL: Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Xhaka; Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi; Alexis










The referee brings the second period to a close with Man City recording a 2-1 win over Arsenal to jump above the Gunners and move into second position in the table. Poor week for Arsenal! Thanks for joining Nigerianeye for our live action once again. Until next time!

90 min+5 FULL-TIME: Man City 2-1 Arsenal

90 min+5 BOOKING! Fernando (Man City) is booked for pulling Bellerin.

90 min+4 BOOKING! Gabriel (Arsenal) is booked for a foul on Silva.

90 min+4 Clichy wins a big header against Giroud and time is almost up here. It is going to be another defeat for Arsenal in a match where they took the lead. Man City are heading for second position.

90 min+3 Arsenal are messing around with the ball at the back!

90 min+2 Bellerin knocks Sterling to the deck and Man City will take their time with this free kick.

90 min+2 Arsenal just cannot get hold of the ball at the moment.

90 min+1 Four minutes added!

90 min Time is running out for Arsenal as Man City win a couple of free kicks and take their time to resume the play. Wenger looks absolutely furious on the sideline - his team have let him down again.

88 min BOOKING! Elneny (Arsenal) is booked for a late tackle on Fernando.

88 min Ozil delivers a deep free kick into the Man City box, but Bravo is on hand to punch clear and another dangerous situation is avoided. The pressure, however, continues as Man City retreat.

86 min Man City are playing a dangerous game at the moment as they drop into a defensive shape, which is inviting Arsenal to press players forward. Still a good five minutes to play at the Etihad.

84 min MAN CITY SUB! Iheanacho replaces De Bruyne for the home side.

84 min Better from Arsenal in the last few minutes as they put the pressure on and Giroud heads over the crossbar after Bellerin had delivered a cross from the right. Might have done better there.

82 min Ozil manages to find Walcott inside the Man City box, but the England international can only chip wide of the far post as Wenger turns away in frustration. Still 2-1 to the home side here.

80 min BOOKING! De Bruyne (Man City) is booked for a late tackle on Gabriel.

78 min ARSENAL SUB! Elneny replaces Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is injured!

77 min POST! Navas delivers a super cross towards Arsenal's near post and De Bruyne's effort comes off the post. The Belgian had to score, but the away side just survive!

76 min MAN CITY SUB! Navas replaces Sane in Man City's second change.

75 min ARSENAL SUB! Giroud replaces Coquelin for the away side.

74 min Little over 15 minutes of this football match remaining and Arsenal are going to make a change.

72 min Man City take the lead in the 71st minute of this match as Sterling skips past Monreal before squeezing one into Cech's near post. It had been coming and Arsenal are behind at the Etihad.

71 min GOAL! Man City 2-1 Arsenal (Sterling)

71 min Still no sign of Giroud for Arsenal, which will be very frustrating for the Frenchman. He popped up with a massive goal away to Manchester United last month and could still have a say in this one. As for Man City, Guardiola is sticking with a front three of Sane, Sterling and De Bruyne at the moment.

70 min SAVE! Cech has to get down to keep out a deflected De Bruyne strike!

68 min Ozil is not in the game for Arsenal at the moment and the German does not exactly offer much defensive cover. Man City continue to pass and probe, but Wenger's side are holding on and might well be happy to settle for a point as things stand. Still no sign of Iheanacho or Nolito for the hosts.

66 min ARSENAL SUB! Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces Iwobi for the away side.

66 min Silva drags one wide of the post as Man City continue to threaten a second goal here.

65 min Sane showed glimpses of his talent in the first period and the German is the main man for Man City at the moment as he continues to cause problems with is pace and movement. Arsenal are simply not in this game, but they have so much pace and so much threat on the counter-attack.

63 min Sterling's long-range strike drifts wide of Arsenal's post.

62 min SAVE! Super chance for Sane once again as De Bruyne slides a wonderful pass into the German, but Cech closes down the angle and makes a really smart save. Still 1-1 here.

61 min Arsenal just cannot get out at the moment as Man City continue to dominate the ball, but Toure cannot unleash from the edge of the box and the visitors clear for a throw-in. Little under 30 minutes of football remaining at the Etihad and at the moment, the home side are fully in control.

59 min De Bruyne whips a dangerous low cross into the Arsenal box, but Cech is on hand to claim.

58 min It will be interesting to see whether either manager introduces an attacking substitute in the next five minutes or so. Man City have already made one change - Sagna for Zabaleta - but both teams have a lot of talented forwards on their benches. Arsenal are struggling to get in the game at the moment.

56 min Different look to Man City at the moment as they hassle Arsenal out of possession and look to probe inside the away side's penalty box. The crowd are responding with chats of 'City, City!'

54 min This is a massive second period for both of these two teams. Chelsea are sitting pretty at the top of the league and would absolutely love a draw, but a draw does not really suit either Arsenal or Man City. Bellerin decides to have a pop from distance, but his effort was always too wide.

52 min Well, Arsenal were so in control in the first period, but they have conceded a sloppy goal once again and Wenger looks furious on the touchline. They might also need to make a change here as Coquelin stays down following a challenge from Toure, which led to the Ivorian's yellow card.

51 min BOOKING! Toure (Man City) is booked for dissent.

48 min Man City level the scores in the 47th minute as Silva chips a terrific pass behind the Arsenal defence and Sane is on hand to slot the ball past Cech. Looked a touch offside there!

47 min GOAL! Man City 1-1 Arsenal (Sane)

46 min... MAN CITY SUB! Sagna replaces Zabaleta for the home side.

46 min RESTART! Man City resume the action at the Etihad...


The referee brings the first period to a close with Arsenal leading 1-0 at the Etihad courtesy of a fifth-minute strike from Walcott, who was afforded far too much space inside the Man City box. In truth, Arsenal have managed to restrict the home side to very little here.


45 min+2 HALF-TIME: Man City 0-1 Arsenal

45 min+1... Toure meets De Bruyne's set piece, but Cech is on hand to save.

45 min+1 More good pressure from the hosts as they force yet another corner...

45 min Sanchez does not look too comfortable for Arsenal following a couple of late challenges and that is certainly one to keep an eye on. Man City have been better in the last few minutes, but Cech still has not been forced into a save. I suspect that there could be some boos at the interval here.

43 min Super stuff from Sane as the winger breezes past Monreal before delivering a low cross into the Arsenal box, but Gabriel is across to clear behind as the home side finally put some pressure on.

42 min Man City pass and probe as they look to find that gap in the final third, but Arsenal are pretty comfortable at the moment as they continue to sit deep and defend their own penalty box.

39 min Bellerin smashes one over the crossbar following another period of pressure from Arsenal, which saw Ozil and Sanchez both come close to finding each other inside the Man City box.

38 min BOOKING! Silva (Man City) is booked for a late challenge on Coquelin.

37 min Half-chance for the away side as Monreal picks out Xhaka with a dangerous cross, but the midfielder's header is just wide of the post. Man City's marking again was terrible there!

36 min De Bruyne goes down inside the Arsenal box under pressure from Bellerin, but the referee is not interested and Arsenal break down the other end with Ozil, whose low cross is blocked behind.

35 min Man City need more from the likes of Silva and Sane this afternoon, while Sterling through the middle has not really worked in the opening 35 minutes of this match. Arsenal are more than prepared to sit deep and threaten on the counter, but chances have been few and far between here.

33 min Bizarre moment as Gabriel smashes the ball against the back of Bellerin and it actually looks like it might be looping into the back of the net, but Cech is on hand to claim. I cannot get over the complete lack of atmosphere inside the stadium and it almost gets worse as Walcott volleys over from close range.

31 min Sterling continues to operate through the middle for the home side, but he cannot bully his way past Arsenal's two centre-backs, which is proving a real problem. It is a surprise that Iheanacho was not picked to start this match considering his goal record and indeed his pace and power.

29 min Better from the home side as they force a couple of corners in quick succession.

28 min To be blunt, not much is happening at the moment. Man City are going nowhere as they keep possession inside their own half and Arsenal are comfortable dealing with whatever arrives. Sterling ducks and dives before having a strike, but the ball is deflected wide of Petr Cech's post.

25 min The atmosphere is extremely flat at the moment, while Guardiola looks resigned on the bench. Arsenal are not having to play too well to lead at the Etihad, which is a concern for the home side.

23 min De Bruyne decides to have a pop from distance, but his effort was always too high.

22 min De Bruyne started this match through the middle, but it does appear that Sterling is now the centre-forward for Man City. Silva and De Bruyne are getting on the ball and looking to find spaces, but Arsenal are keeping a decent line and there is no space for Sterling to use his explosive pace.

20 min The opening 20 minutes of this match has absolutely flown past and Arsenal have the lead courtesy of that Walcott finish in the fifth minute. Not too much to report in term

18 min End-to-end football in the last few minutes as both teams continue to commit players in the final third. Sanchez looks to slide a pass into Xhaka inside the Man City box, before Sterling breaks and Bellerin has to make a sliding challenge. This Man City defence looks very vulnerable indeed here.

15 min Arsenal are more than happy to play on the counter-attack in this match as Man City continue to enjoy possession of the ball. It is a dangerous tactic, but Walcott and Sanchez have already managed to find dangerous positions. I would be astounded if we had seen the last of the goals.

13 min Neither defence looks too secure in this match and both teams have some brilliant attacking players, which surely equals goals. It is the Arsenal supporters making the noise at the moment, while the home fans are very nervous. The opening 13 minutes of this game have flown past.

11 min... De Bruyne delivers towards Toure and the big midfielder makes contact at the far post, but his header is over the crossbar. The flag was actually raised though so it would not have counted.

10 min Man City have a free-kick in a dangerous area as Koscielny brings Sterling to the deck...

9 min Well, it has been some opening nine minutes to this match as both teams continue to commit players in the final third. I predicted goals this afternoon and that looks to be the case. Arsenal lead, but it really should be 1-1 after Sterling had that golden chance from a super De Bruyne cross.

7 min CHANCE! Oh my word! Stunning chance for the home side as De Bruyne picks out Sterling at the far post, but the attacker somehow heads wide from close range. Should be 1-1!

6 min Arsenal make the breakthrough inside five minutes here as Walcott collects a super pass from Sanchez before finishing past Bravo inside the box. Terrible defending once again there!

5 min GOAL! Man City 0-1 Arsenal (Walcott)

4 min De Bruyne is operating at centre-forward for the home side this afternoon, but the Belgian has to take the ball wide and there are no options inside the Arsenal box. The home supporters are not too pleased with the referee's early contribution following a couple of calls in Arsenal's favour here.

2 min... there is no downplaying the importance of this football match. Decent noise inside the stadium, but it is mainly coming from the away supporters at the moment. It will be interesting to see which one of these teams dominates the ball. Both like to pass and probe from deep areas of the field.

0 min KICKOFF! Arsenal kick things off at the Etihad...