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MOTD- Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City

By on March 29, 2014

While Arsenal might have held a onto a draw with the league title favorites Manchester City to keep them within five points of the top of the table, it is undoubtedly the end of their Premier League title dreams. Arsene Wenger’s side are still three points off of City and Liverpool, who have two and one games in hand, respectively, and in all honesty that leaves then too far off to catch Liverpool orthe side that they drew with tonight.

That draw will was not the worst result for City, however, and leaves them having taken away four points out of six from two tough away matches against Arsenal tonight and Manchester United midweek. Four points that, if not had been won, would not leave City in the position to be able to overtake Chelsea at the top of the table by four points via their two games in hand.

Well I think it’s a good point.” – Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini

While there was no incredible opener for City of the likes of which they scored just forty-two seconds verses Manchester United, the visitors did pressure and dominate Arsenal as they did United in the opening minutes. Jesus Navas came close with a whipping effort from the right side of the box in the first encounters of the match, but Arsenal did a sturdy job of keeping the midfield clogged and forcing City to attack down the wings.

Yet all of the work they put in to slowly grow into the match was erased when City struck on the counter-attack in the eighteenth minute. David Silva sprung through down the middle before laying it out to the left into the feet of Edin Dzeko, who smacked a low effort off the inside of the left post and back out into the six yard box, where it bounced off the legs of the unknowing Silva and into the far corner of the net.

While Mathieu Flamini immediately responded by volleying Lukas Podolski’s into the back of the net, Arsenal’s goal was disallowed and the tempo of the match slowed. It remained even, not to mention quite boring and slow, as the match inched on to the second half. But Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini’s halftime talks must have been effective, as the second half began a lightning pace.

City came tantalizingly close to doubling their lead six minutes into the half, with Wojciech Szczesny tipping Navas’ low cross from the right off Dzeko and inches wide of the near post. Santi Cazorla then blasted an effort that wobbled in mid-air on goal from some twenty-five yards, and although Joe Hart kept the shot out with his legs the English goalkeeper was unable to stop Arsenal from taking the lead seconds later. Just like in The Gunners’ disallowed goal, Podolski’s cross from the left was volleyed into the bottom corner by Flamini near the penalty spot.

In the fifty-ninth minute Wenger’s side nearly completed their turn-around, only for Podolski’s low shot from twelve yards out to be turned wide of the near post off the underside of Hart’s leg. Fernandinho then came close to scoring for City, yet Szczesny just managed to push the midfielder’s incredible thirty-yard volley over the crossbar and the scoreline failed to change before the full time whistled signaled that both sides had held both a point but failed to make it a valuable three.
Man of the Match: David Silva

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.