Spanish star ghosts in from the shadows to steal show
Arsenal had been, “You never know”. The optimism seemed misplaced, considering it came after they were thumped 4-0 by Everton in midweek.
But despite setting up with five at the back, in a defend-at-all-costs approach, they had the better of the early chances with Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini going close.
The atmosphere at the Etihad was flat as fans had turned up to see their side steamroll the struggling Hammers but it was the visitors who were ahead just before the break.
Aaron Cresswell’s cross after a short corner was met by the towering Ogbonna and the upset looked on, with City rarely threatening and Guardiola’s decision to rest some key players looking ill-advised.
The City boss no doubt gave his side a rollicking at half-time and swapped Danilo for Gabriel Jesus at the break. The changed worked as City upped their intensity and De Bruyne forced Adrian into a top save from a free-kick in the 56th minute.
A few moments later the equaliser came as the half-time substitute lashed across the area and Otamendi slid in to turn home, via West Ham defender Declan Rice.
Pushed
It looked inevitable that City would get the winner but Adrian was out to impress, with Hart unable to play, and he pulled off saves to deny two strikes from Leroy Sane.
His best stop was when he pushed away a long-range effort from Jesus before Raheem Sterling fluffed the rebound and the stand-in keeper may have given Moyes something to think about for next week’s clash with Chelsea.
But he could do nothing about Silva’s sumptuous finish in the 83rd minute as City grabbed a late winner for the fourth game in a row.
Antonio had a chance before that and Diafra Sakho should have equalised in stoppage time, but there were positives to take in defeat for Moyes’ relegationthreatened side.
City now travel to the Ukraine for a Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk, with the group already won, and face Manchester United on Sunday.
Victory at Old Trafford would put 11 points between them and their rivals in second place and equal Arsenal’s run of 14 straight league wins, which was over two seasons.