City fire out title warning

Manchester City fired out a stunning signal of their title intent with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Arsenal

Adebayor scores against former club in thrilling clash

Manchester City fired out a stunning signal of their Premier League title intent with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Arsenal at the City of Manchester Stadium. After three successive wins in the Premier League, the visit of Arsenal provided Mark Hughes' side with their first serious test of the campaign and it was one they passed with flying colours. Though Arsenal started brightly, City took the lead on 20 minutes in fortunate circumstances when Micah Richards' header was turned onto the post by Manuel Almunia before bouncing off the visitors' keeper and into the net. William Gallas, who missed a great chance before City scored, was then denied by Shay Given, who also thwarted Thomas Vermaelen from distance. Arsenal drew level on 62 minutes through Robin van Persie only for Craig Bellamy to restore City's lead in the 74th minute. Emmanuel Adebayor maintained his record of scoring in every game since leaving Arsenal for City by heading home on 80 minutes and he was booked after running the length of the pitch in celebration. Shaun Wright-Phillips grabbed City's fourth goal on 84 minutes before Tomas Rosicky marked his first Arsenal appearance since January 2008 with a late consolation.

Intriguing

The meeting between City's new money and Arsenal's grand past would have been intriguing enough even without the appearance of Adebayor and Kolo Toure against their former club. Arsene Wenger pocketed £40million for the pair, which has generally been regarded as a good bit of business, especially as Adebayor was not the most popular figure among the Gunners faithful. Pre-match boos from the visiting section continued after the game had started, although that reaction only seemed to fire up a player who showed more purpose and commitment than he provided in his final days at the Emirates. Yet it was the visitors who started better and Gallas should have put them ahead with a far post header. Instead, the Frenchman sent it fizzing over, providing City with an escape the fickle finger of fate ensured they took full advantage of. True, without Gareth Barry's curling free-kick after Bellamy had been blocked off by Bacary Sagna, or Richards' towering header, there would have been no goal. Yet as Almunia pushed the header onto a post, then helplessly turned it home as the ball cannoned straight back towards him, the assist should go down in a column marked 'luck'. So eager to impress, Adebayor was a notable presence without doing anything significant. Had Bellamy not wasted a cross, he might have been presented with a tap-in. Not that his old club did any better. For all their possession, they did not come close to matching Gallas' earlier opportunity and, unlike a fortnight ago at Old Trafford, this time Wenger could not even claim his team had been roughed up. Wenger has been criticised for his lack of summer signings. But after 20 months on the sidelines following major knee surgery, having Rosicky available must feel like a new arrival.

Momentum changed

The momentum definitely changed following the Czech star's introduction for Denilson, their passing becoming more threatening, their attacks presenting more obvious danger. Gallas had already brought one excellent reaction save out of Given with a stooping near-post header when Rosicky collected Bacary Sagna's short pass and fed the ball calmly through to Van Persie. Joleon Lescott lunged in despairingly, but Van Persie simply skipped past the £22million man and drove a precise shot into the bottom corner. Wenger probably could not believe how Arsenal failed to get their noses in front during the minutes that followed, as his team assumed total control. Yet their concentration appeared to waver when Adebayor's tackle on Van Persie left him needing treatment to a facial wound and Alexandre Song lashed out at his former team-mate shortly afterwards. There could be no other explanation for the ease with which Richards cut inside Song after receiving Wright-Phillips' pass and then finding Bellamy, who swept home to City's glee. That would have brought joy enough to Eastlands. But, having presented Wright-Phillips with a tap-in after beating three men near the by-line, only for the England star to miss, Adebayor decided it was time to do the job himself. His reaction to the goal, racing the full length of the field to celebrate right in front of the Arsenal fans, rightly earned him a booking and may attract further punishment from the FA. Not that Adebayor will be too bothered as City survived a breathless finale in which Wright-Phillips stretched their lead before Rosicky pulled one back and Vermaelen hit a post.

Manchester City	Team Statistics	Arsenal
4	Goals	2
1	1st Half Goals	0
5	Shots on Target	7
3	Shots off Target	12
2	Blocked Shots	4
3	Corners	12
14	Fouls	12
2	Offsides	2
3	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
73.5	Passing Success	82
21	Tackles	28
81	Tackles Success	75
39.6	Possession	60.4
40.4	Territorial Advantage	59.6