It was a pulsating game at the Etihad stadium, but Arsenal finally losing out on the game 1-0 to Manchester city courtesy of a lone 2nd half goal by David Silva.
It was an entertaining contest between the two teams, with 1st half being rather timid display by both teams. City had more chances in the 1st half. Ken Aguero came close to giving City the breakthrough twice in the first half, but Szczesny showed some great reflexes to stop him from scoring. Arsenal had some half chances in first half through Aaron Ramsey.
Second half was more entertaining with end to end stuff. Great attacking moves from both teams. City scored from a powerful shot from Balotelli with scooped out of Szczesny's hand and the rebound was put in by Silva for the goal. Man city could have score atleast 2 more goals, with woodwork playing a spoilsport for a powerful shot by Zabaleta and Aguero's shot was just wide. Arsenal themselves had some close opportunities with Van Persie's header was judged offside from a beautiful cross by walcott. Also a nice lob shot from Van Persie was judged offside. Joe Hart played a crucial role in the dying minutes, as he was bombarded with powerful kicks by Vermaelen. Arsenal had a close penalty shout when the ball hit Micah Richards' arm right in front of Phil Dowd's eyes. In any other day, it would have been a penalty.
Finally it ended with a scoreline of 1-0 to City. Arsene Wenger will be pretty much disappointed with the result. While Mancini will be relieved to avoid consecutive defeats in the premier league.
Szczesny : 7
Overall Solid performance. Some may argue he could have done better with balotelli's shot. But pulled out some great saves in the first half.
Djourou: 6
Had a quite game, dint have much to do. But was effective moving forward. He picked up some strain in the 2nd half was replaced by young Ignasi Miquel
Mertesacker: 6
Mixed game for the big german, was woeful at times, but did pull out some good aerial tackles.
Koscielny : 7.5
He was fantastic throughout the match. solid defending in first half. Was shifted to left back early in the 2nd half to accommodate Vermaelen in the centre.
Vermaelen: 7
Solid performance as usual by the defender. Strong in the air. Showed some attacking skills, nearly equalized for Arsenal
Song: 6
Working tirelessly in the midfield. Moved to centre back in the later stages of the game. Couldn't block Balotelli's shot.
Arteta: 6
Not a great game by his standards. Was stranded deep in the midfield, while song took the attack to the opposition. Did show some good passing.
Walcott: 5
Poor game for the Englishman. Was kept totally silent in the first half by some exquisite marking by zabaleta. Showed some good skills in the 2nd half but wasn't effective.
Ramsey: 6.5
Good game for the welshman. Some good passing movies. Almost came close to scoring in the first half .
Gervinho: 7
Was lively in the entire match. Had some decent chances in the match. Teamed up nicely with Van persie to lead the Arsenal attack.
Van Persie: 6.5
The flying dutchman couldn't rescue Arsenal from defeat this time around. Had some good shots on goal blocked by Hart. Lost the ball couple of times in the box. Not his best performance.
Substitutions:
Ignasi Miquel: 6
Decent game for the youngster. Replaced Djourou in the 2nd half. Was nervous, but pulled his game together. Got some intelligent tackles on Villa. Handled the pressure well
Andrei Arshavin: 5.5
Came in for Walcott in the 2nd half. The Russian seemed to be a bit lost on the pitch. Had a wonderful chance to pass in a simple cross to RVP in the box, but missed out on it. Had a shot on goal in the later stages of the game. Clock might be ticking for the little russian.
Maroune Chamakh: N/A
Dint have enough time on the pitch to influence the game. Came in for Mertesacker during the last 10 minutes of the game.
It was an entertaining contest between the two teams, with 1st half being rather timid display by both teams. City had more chances in the 1st half. Ken Aguero came close to giving City the breakthrough twice in the first half, but Szczesny showed some great reflexes to stop him from scoring. Arsenal had some half chances in first half through Aaron Ramsey.
Second half was more entertaining with end to end stuff. Great attacking moves from both teams. City scored from a powerful shot from Balotelli with scooped out of Szczesny's hand and the rebound was put in by Silva for the goal. Man city could have score atleast 2 more goals, with woodwork playing a spoilsport for a powerful shot by Zabaleta and Aguero's shot was just wide. Arsenal themselves had some close opportunities with Van Persie's header was judged offside from a beautiful cross by walcott. Also a nice lob shot from Van Persie was judged offside. Joe Hart played a crucial role in the dying minutes, as he was bombarded with powerful kicks by Vermaelen. Arsenal had a close penalty shout when the ball hit Micah Richards' arm right in front of Phil Dowd's eyes. In any other day, it would have been a penalty.
Finally it ended with a scoreline of 1-0 to City. Arsene Wenger will be pretty much disappointed with the result. While Mancini will be relieved to avoid consecutive defeats in the premier league.
Szczesny : 7
Overall Solid performance. Some may argue he could have done better with balotelli's shot. But pulled out some great saves in the first half.
Djourou: 6
Had a quite game, dint have much to do. But was effective moving forward. He picked up some strain in the 2nd half was replaced by young Ignasi Miquel
Mertesacker: 6
Mixed game for the big german, was woeful at times, but did pull out some good aerial tackles.
Koscielny : 7.5
He was fantastic throughout the match. solid defending in first half. Was shifted to left back early in the 2nd half to accommodate Vermaelen in the centre.
Vermaelen: 7
Solid performance as usual by the defender. Strong in the air. Showed some attacking skills, nearly equalized for Arsenal
Song: 6
Working tirelessly in the midfield. Moved to centre back in the later stages of the game. Couldn't block Balotelli's shot.
Arteta: 6
Not a great game by his standards. Was stranded deep in the midfield, while song took the attack to the opposition. Did show some good passing.
Walcott: 5
Poor game for the Englishman. Was kept totally silent in the first half by some exquisite marking by zabaleta. Showed some good skills in the 2nd half but wasn't effective.
Ramsey: 6.5
Good game for the welshman. Some good passing movies. Almost came close to scoring in the first half .
Gervinho: 7
Was lively in the entire match. Had some decent chances in the match. Teamed up nicely with Van persie to lead the Arsenal attack.
Van Persie: 6.5
The flying dutchman couldn't rescue Arsenal from defeat this time around. Had some good shots on goal blocked by Hart. Lost the ball couple of times in the box. Not his best performance.
Substitutions:
Ignasi Miquel: 6
Decent game for the youngster. Replaced Djourou in the 2nd half. Was nervous, but pulled his game together. Got some intelligent tackles on Villa. Handled the pressure well
Andrei Arshavin: 5.5
Came in for Walcott in the 2nd half. The Russian seemed to be a bit lost on the pitch. Had a wonderful chance to pass in a simple cross to RVP in the box, but missed out on it. Had a shot on goal in the later stages of the game. Clock might be ticking for the little russian.
Maroune Chamakh: N/A
Dint have enough time on the pitch to influence the game. Came in for Mertesacker during the last 10 minutes of the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment