Arsenal and Man City Miss Out, End Even

 1-1 

Earlier today Chelsea were stunned by Crystal Palace in a 1-0 loss.  John Terry scored an own-goal and Chelsea missed out on claiming any points.  Manchester City came into the later match against Arsenal with a chance to take the top spot if they could beat the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.

City had a better start to the game and enjoyed the majority of possession in the early stages of the game.  David Silva was able to create the first goal of the match when Arsenal gave up possession in midfield.  Silva had space to dribble a long way towards the Arsenal goal and picked out Edin Dzeko running to the back-post.  Dzeko's shot was partially blocked by keeper Szczesny before coming off the post.  The rebound off the post then came back to David Silva who managed to get a foot on the ball to score (18').

The rest of the first-half featured a series of four yellow cards, three of them going to Manchester City.  Fortunately for both clubs, no one was shown a second yellow and both clubs finished with eleven men.

Arsenal regrouped during the half-time break and came out in the second-half with more intensity.  Their improved play paid off quickly and the Gunners managed to level the score.  Lukas Podolski delivered a skipping cross into the box and Mathieu Flamini was able to slip in front of defender Demichelis to get a shot at goal for the equalizer (53').

After conceding the goal, Manchester City played more conservatively bringing in Milner and Javi Garcia to secure the midfield.  Arsenal on the other hand went for more aggressive changes and brought Oxlade-Chamberlain and Yaya Sanogo on to the pitch.  However neither side could produce a go-ahead goal and the match ended in a draw.

For the moment Chelsea remain at the top of the table, but Liverpool will have a chance to take the lead tomorrow when they face Tottenham at Anfield.  The title race is anything but certain though, as just five points separate the current top-four.