Barclays Premier League: Man City 3-0 Arsenal

Barclays Premier League

22nd Nov 2008

KO 15:00

Ground: The City of Manchester Stadium

Att: 44,878

Arsene Wenger will have woken up on Saturday morning feeling his week could not get any worse. By the end of Saturday afternoon he had realised it could and had, as Arsenal left Manchester City with a 3-0 defeat and their fading title aspirations in tatters.

Arsenal, with their motor-mouth captain William Gallas left in the capital to brood, were insipid throughout against a City side that were barely better themselves, prior to Stephen Ireland opening the scoring in first half injury time.

There was more than a dose of fortune about the build-up to Ireland's opener, as he was afforded possession by Gael Clichy and Mikael Silvestre's best impression of the Keystone Cops, but nothing about his sublime dinked finish over Manuel Almunia from close range.

After the interval City swarmed all over Arsenal in great swathes of blue, which drowned a despondent side now surely out of the title race. Robinho doubled City's advantage when from the excellent Shaun-Wright Phillips' perfectly weighted through ball, he found an impudent lobbed finish that was worth every penny of his Ł30million+ price tag.

Wenger looked downbeat on the sidelines; his young charges desperate beyond it, as City substitute Daniel Sturridge dug the knife in deeper as he converted a last minute penalty he had won off Johan Djourou.

ARSENAL TEAM:
Manuel Almunia
Mikael Silvestre
Gael Clichy
Johan Djourou
Gavin Hoyte(60)
Alexandre Song
Abou Diaby(69)
Denilson
Robin Van Persie
Nicklas Bendtner
Samir Nasri

SUBSTITUTES:
Lukasz Fabianski
Kieran Gibbs
Jay Simpson
Henri Lansbury
Aaron Ramsey (60)
Jack Wilshere
Carlos Vela (69)

Arsenal desperately need help, if they are to challenge for the title, this season