Manchester City have fallen further behind in the title race with a surprise 2-0 loss to Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. They felt the absence of Yaya Toure considerably, while the Gunners were able to take advantage of a minimal number of chances.
3 things we learned from Arsenal’s stunning 2-0 win over Manchester City
Arsene Wenger’s men posted a rare win away to a fellow big team.
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In a bit of an uncharacteristic move, Arsenal set up defensively to try to limit City's chances and play on the break on the road. Very little happened in the early part of the match until the 23rd minute, when the Gunners won a surprising penalty. Vincent Kompany stepped in front of Nacho Monreal's path after he laid the ball off and ran forward, tripping the Arsenal left back, and Mike Dean pointed to the spot. Joe Hart dove the right way to get a slight fingertip to Santi Cazorla's shot, but his penalty was too good to be saved.
City made a change at halftime, bringing Stevan Jovetic on for James Milner. It was a positive switch -- City looked dangerous right after his introduction -- but it didn't lead to a goal. David Ospina had to make a pair of solid stops on Sergio Aguero and Jesus Navas in the first six minutes of the period, which was a bit chaotic and very much favored the hosts. But eventually, Arsenal settled down, and City couldn't do much after that.
The clinching goal came in the 67th minute, after Alexis Sanchez won a free kick 25 yards out. Santi Cazorla played a perfect delivery into the center for Olivier Giroud, who lost Fernando and headed into the back of the net, giving the Gunners a much needed insurance goal.
Edin Dzeko was introduced shortly after that, but couldn’t make the difference for his side, as Arsenal hung on comfortably.
Manchester City: Hart, Clichy, Demichelis, Kompany, Zabaleta, Fernando, Fernandinho (Lampard 63'), Milner (Jovetic 46'), Silva, Navas (Dzeko 76'), Aguero
Goals: None
Arsenal: Ospina, Monreal, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Bellerin, Coquelin, Ramsey (Flamini 84'), Sanchez (Gibbs 84'), Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Rosicky 66'), Giroud
Goals: Cazorla (penalty 24’), Giroud (67’)
3 things
1. Arsenal can play more than one way - It took a while, but it appears Arsene Wenger has finally learned from past mistakes. With his captain Mikel Arteta and right back Mathieu Debuchy unavailable, Wenger actually set up his team in a pragmatic, counter-attacking system and it worked well. City struggled to create chances, and even though Arsenal didn't look terribly comfortable playing on the counter, they were good enough to win the match.
2. Santi Cazorla is in top form - The biggest reason that Arsenal's tactics were effective was the incredible work rate and skill of Santi Cazorla. Turning away from clusters of defenders in tiny spaces to keep possession is something he's known for, but he was better at pressing and winning the ball than he's looked previously. He looked like an Oscar- or Kroos-style defensive No. 10. It was pretty stunning.
3. Manchester City need Yaya Toure - Fernando and Fernandinho are not a great midfield pairing. Frank Lampard might have been a better choice for Manuel Pellegrini, but he's clearly limited at this point in his career and nowhere near the complete player that Yaya is. The Africa Cup of Nations has already hit City hard, and Yaya's absence will probably lead to more dropped points as well.
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