Struggling Arsenal drop valuable points against City
Arsenal twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Manchester City in a tense Premier League encounter yesterday and stay seven points behind the fourth-placed visitors.
Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero twice fired City into the lead in the first half, but Arsenal equalised through Theo Walcott before Shkodran Mustafi’s header after the break ensured the points were shared.
Against a background of fan discontent over the form of Arsene Wenger’s side as he decides his future, Arsenal were nervy from the start.
They fell behind in the fifth minute when Sane rounded keeper David Ospina and finished elegantly after Arsenal’s defence was dissected by a sublime through-ball from Kevin De Bruyne for his 13th assist of the season.
Walcott levelled from close range in the 40th minute after being played onside by Gael Clichy.
“We didn’t play in the first half, after the goal we forgot to play,” Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports. “The desire went.
“In the second half we played more. We suffered a lot in the first half because we didn’t make those passes together.”
While the defensive frailties of both sides were regularly exposed, they also demonstrated their attacking brilliance in spells.
Arsenal’s equaliser spurred the visitors back to life. Aguero restored City’s lead two minutes later after being picked out by David Silva before finishing with aplomb.
Mustafi again restored parity eight minutes after the break when he rose above Nicolas Otamendi to head Mesut Ozil’s corner past keeper Willy Caballero with City’s defence static.
The draw takes City, who visit Chelsea on Wednesday, on to 58 points, five clear of fifth-placed Manchester United, who have a game in hand, and a point behind Liverpool, who have played a game more than Pep Guardiola’s side.
Arsenal, in sixth, now have 51 points and are in danger of missing out on a top-four finish for the first time since 1996. They host West Ham United on Wednesday.