Alexis Sanchez scored a spectacular volley

Published: 13 September, 2014

by RICHARD OSLEY at the Emirates

Premier League

ARSENAL 2, MANCHESTER CITY 2

Arsenal went toe-to-toe with league champions Manchester City, finishing a thrilling tussle unsure whether to be happy or deflated with a draw. Leading 2-1 with ten minutes to go, the Gunners lost the focus and rhythm that had been banked in a feisty reaction to a half-time deficit.

They went from a team chasing a killer third goal to a jittery side desperate for the final whistle, all in the five minutes defender Mathieu Debuchy was treated with gas and air for a sprained ankle before being stretchered off. It was a game, however, of alternating momentum throughout.

Arsenal started well with new forward Danny Welbeck hitting the post with a chip that two inches to the right would have made for a dream start following his switch from Manchester United. But then City were the ones that found themselves 1-0 up at the break, Sergio Aguero finishing a perfect counter attack move after Jesus Navas’s blistering pace had been too hot for Mathieu Flamini.

Danny Welbeck made his Arsenal debut

Arsenal pushed on, however, with a look of a team determined to at least stay unbeaten for as long as possible and got fair reward when Aaron Ramsey played in Jack Wilshere who dribbled past a leaden-footed Gael Clichy before dinking the ball thoughtfully over Joe Hart. Now Arsenal were on a roll and were ahead on 74 minutes when Vincent Kompany’s clearance header was headed back into the box by Wilshere, the standout man of the match for Arsenal.

Sanchez, a marquee signing from Barcelona, allowed the ball to fall over his shoulder before executing a picture-book volley beyond Hart. He ripped off his shirt, the frustration of a slow start in Arsenal colours immediately soothed.

These are the moments which Arsenal need to grasp this season,after last season’s notoriously bad results against fellow top four sides. A victory would have been a statement to the rest of the league that Arsenal have toughened up for this campaign and it would have been a dagger for City, on the back of their home defeat to Stoke.

But the fairest result was probably a draw, as City not only scored in the final ten minutes through Martin Demichelis’s free header from a corner but hit the post twice and a had goal disallowed as well. After such a spectacle, it was rather mean-spirited for City manager Manuel Pellegrini to try and identify fouls in the build-up to the Arsenal goals, neither of which really looked prosecutable.

He had a greater case with a potential handball against Wilshere in the penalty area.

It would have been a spoiler for the Arsenal No. 10, who had driven Arsenal back into the game in possibly his greatest performance for the club. Wenger will need more of the same to shake off those barracking him for not re-signing Cesc Fabregas in the summer. Wilshere, at least, seems ready for the challenge.

ARSENAL: Szczesny, Debuchy (Chambers 81), Monreal, Koscielny, Mertesacker; Flamini (Arteta 95), Ramsey, Wilshere, Sanchez, Ozil; Welbeck (Oxlade-Chamberlain 88) Subs not used: Gibbs, Ospina, Cazorla, Podolski.

Attendance: 60,003