Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal – as it happened
Manchester City scraped a win in a frantic encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
FULL-TIME: Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal. That is, indeed, that. A frantic game, in which City emerged deserved victors over an extremely shaky Arsenal side. Both teams suffered from a lack of finesse, but in the end Silva’s goal was enough to earn the win. This was hardly sending out a message, though – Arsenal were available for a real shellacking today, but managed to escape with a narrow defeat. But it’s points that win prizes, and City take all three today. Thanks for reading.
90+3 min: Vermaelen goes within inches again! He tried to curl it into the far post, and Hart looked beaten, but it just dropped wide. This is unbelievable, but it’s surely over now.
90+2 min: City have it in the corner. That might be that.
90 min: Vermaelen goes close! Arsenal have a free-kick out wide, and they slide it along the ground for the Belgian to send in a drive – it looks for all the world that it’s flying in, but Hart leaps up to push it over. City are under siege.
88 min: Szczesny hoofs the ball boxwards from the halfway line. It eventually falls to Arshavin, whose effort crashes into the side-netting. Mancini will be livid if City throw this – a game in which they could feasibly have score six or seven – away.