Gunners pass City test

Arsenal demonstrated their potential this season after pushing defending Premier League champions Man City all the way in a 1-1 draw.

Koscielny cancels out Lescott's opener in excellent encounter

Arsenal demonstrated their potential this season after pushing defending Premier League champions Manchester City all the way in a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium. Laurent Koscielny's second-half goal cancelled out Joleon Lescott's first-half opener and gave Arsene Wenger's side the point which was the least they deserved. Inspired by the superb Santi Cazorla, Arsenal had the better of proceedings and showed why boss Wenger has been talking about challenging for the title. Meanwhile, City, who before kick-off had dropped just two points from the last 78 available at the Etihad, now trail table-topping Chelsea by four points. City's defence of their title had consisted of two scrappy wins and two draws, while they suffered a last-gasp defeat by Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. They were at least boosted by the return of Sergio Aguero for the first time since the opening weekend of the season after a knee injury, and he had the first real chance of the game in the 14th minute with a curling shot that was pushed away by Vito Mannone. It was Arsenal who were looking the more dangerous, though, cutting swathes through City's midfield, and had it not been for a truly awful touch from Gervinho as he ran on to Aaron Ramsey's through ball, they may well have been ahead.

Surprise

The Gunners were taking on their opponents with real pace and in the 24th minute Carl Jenkinson did well down the right and pulled the ball back to Lukas Podolski, who skied his shot well over the bar. Gervinho then fired just wide with a shot that rippled the side-netting and drew cheers from the section of Arsenal fans down the other end who thought it had sneaked in. Still they had not really tested Joe Hart, though, and they were made to pay in the 40th minute when Lescott, who had been surprisingly left out against Madrid, headed in David Silva's corner. Mannone, playing in place of the injured Wojciech Szczesny, certainly did not cover himself in glory, attempting to plough through a ruck of defenders and getting nowhere near the ball. City could even have been two ahead at the break but Mannone partially redeemed himself with a fingertip save from Edin Dzeko's curling shot. City boss Roberto Mancini addressed his midfield issues by bringing on Jack Rodwell for the disappointing Scott Sinclair at the start of the second half, and immediately there was more dynamism about the home side. Aguero fired over at the back post and was then screaming for a penalty when he thought he had been tripped by Koscielny.

Smart stop

The Argentinian stayed on his feet and managed to get his shot away, which was blocked by Kieran Gibbs, and that probably counted against him as referee Mike Dean waved away the claims. Arsenal were still passing the ball around neatly without really looking like scoring, and Gervinho's radar was off target again as he blasted high and wide in the 66th minute. Dzeko was then replaced by Carlos Tevez while Wenger made a double change, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud coming on for Lukas Podolski and Abou Diaby. Arsenal were pressing hard but City almost killed the game off on the break in the 80th minute, Yaya Toure playing in Aguero for a shot that was smartly stopped by Mannone. That proved to be a crucial moment as Arsenal went up the other end and Cazorla drew the first real save out of Hart with a fine shot from the edge of the box. The Spaniard took the resulting corner and Lescott could only divert the ball to the feet of Koscielny, who smashed the ball into the top corner. It was no more than Arsenal deserved but they had Mannone to thank for keeping them level moments later as he saved Vincent Kompany's acrobatic overhead kick before Aguero shot inches wide. The Gunners had the final chance but again Gervinho's finish did not match his approach play, the Ivorian firing well over from 15 yards out.

Manchester City	Team Statistics	Arsenal
1	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	0
6	Shots on Target	4
5	Shots off Target	5
4	Blocked Shots	2
9	Corners	4
12	Fouls	8
1	Offsides	1
1	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
79	Passing Success	87.9
38	Tackles	22
76.3	Tackles Success	86.4
41.3	Possession	58.7
45.7	Territorial Advantage	54.3
434	Total Passes	638
21	Total Crosses	17
157	Lost Balls	168
57	Recoveries	55
43.9	1st Half Poss.	56.1
36.2	2nd Half Poss.	63.8