Arsenal were able to continue their impressive recent form by beating title rivals Manchester City 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

Mesut Ozil grabbed two assists, taking his tally to 15 for the season, as first Theo Walcott and then Olivier Giroud scored in the first half. It could have been three at a number of points in the second 45, before Yaya Toure scored to bring City back into the game late on.

Both sides struggle to set the tempo

Both teams looked nervous in the early stages of the game with neither team having any meaningful shots on goal. City were keen to catch Arsenal on the break but the Gunners' defence were prepared to sit a bit deeper in order to accommodate it. It took until the 22nd minute for the first real positive effort at goal when Kevin De Bruyne cut in from the right hand side, but his hard low effort was well saved by Petr Cech.

Arsenal struggled to impose themselves upon proceedings with both sides seemingly showing a huge amount of respect for each other, as the midfield ending up rather congested in the process. The next chance fell to De Bruyne once again as City broke at pace but the Belgian dragged his shot wide of the post when one on one with Cech.

Arsenal finally take control

However, it was the home side who made the breakthrough when Mesut Ozil's pass found Theo Walcott who turned back inside and unleashed an unstoppable right footed shot from just outside the area. The Gunners nearly scored again minutes later but Laurent Koscielny's glancing header from a corner was just off target and cleared by the City defence.

Arsenal took a huge step towards victory on the stroke of half time as they went 2-0 up. City got caught empty handed at the back after an interception by Walcott who then found Ozil, and the German playmaker found Olivier Giroud who slid the ball under Joe Hart.

Giroud scores the second (photo: Andy Hooper)

City search for the comeback

Arsenal had the chance to effectively seal the game in the 52nd minute when Joel Campbell met Nacho Monreal's cross, but the Costa Rican blazed his shot over the bar. Campbell had another chance three minutes later when he was put through by a superb long ball from Koscielny but he could only get a toe to it, allowing Hart to make the save.

Hart was on hand to make another superb save from Aaron Ramsey moments later when Campbell this time turned provider with an excellent reverse pass, but Ramsey couldn't provide the finish.

The visitors tried to get a foothold in the game but struggled to create any clear cut chances and look hugely vulnerable on the break. Raheem Sterling had a speculative long range effort on 73 minutes but Cech was on hand to calmly collect. City had huge chance to make the game interesting on 79 minutes when Jesus Navas was put through on goal but the Spaniards lack of confidence was on show as he failed to pull the ball back for Wilfried Bony.

Nervy finish for Arsenal

The visitors did get a goal back on 82 minutes through Yaya Toure as the Ivorian nonchalantly fired it into the top corner with Cech helpless. Toure almost levelled up five minutes after he was excellently played in by De Bruyne but he slid the wall just wide of the post after some intricate build up play.

The visitors pinned their hosts back in the final stages of the match but couldn't find a breakthrough to bring themselves level. The result leaves Arsenal four points clear of City going into the crucial Christmas period while they still trail high flying Leicester City by two points. City have now failed to win in their last five away games which will concern Manuel Pellegrini as he searches to regain the Premier League crown.

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About the author
Danny Ryan
I am a at the University of Portsmouth with a passion for writing about football all across Europe. Oh and I am an Arsenal fan.