The last time Arsenal beat Man City at the Etihad Stadium
Arsenal’s recent malaise means they’ll likely have to go to the Etihad on Wednesday night and beat Manchester City if they’re to win their first Premier League title in 20 years.
The Gunners have dropped six points from their last three outings to hand City the initiative in the title race. They have boasted eight-point advantages over Pep Guardiola’s side at various points this season, but their lead has been trimmed to five with City having played two games fewer heading into Wednesday’s crunch clash.
It’s in the back-to-back champions‘ hands, and they’re currently performing like the most rampant of Guardiola iterations.
Arsenal have a mammoth task ahead of them given their recent history at the Etihad. It’s been some time since they last claimed victory on the sky blue side of Manchester.
Arsenal’s last triumph away at Man City arrived in January 2015 with Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud scoring in a 2-0 victory.
City headed into that contest off the back of a 12-game unbeaten run, while the Gunners hadn’t won at the Etihad since 2010. Arsene Wenger’s side had endured a pretty indifferent 2014/15 campaign up to that point and they started the day sixth in the table behind the likes of Tottenham and Southampton.
The Citizens, meanwhile, were the closest challengers to Chelsea at the top, but this defeat left them five points adrift of Jose Mourinho’s side. As for Arsenal, this victory saw them leapfrog their north London rivals into fifth.
On the whole, the contest was a forgettable one with City struggling to penetrate a stubborn Arsenal backline after Cazorla gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot. The Spaniard then turned provider in the second half as his free-kick was nodded home by Giroud just after the hour.
City’s threat was tame thereafter, with Arsenal’s victory comfortable in the end.
Man City 0-2 Arsenal (18/01/2015 – Premier League) – Starting XIs
Man City: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy; Fernandinho (Lampard 63′), Fernando; Navas (Dzeko 76′), Silva, Milner (Jovetic 45′); Aguero
Arsenal: Ospina; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin; Oxlade-Chamberlain (Rosicky 66′), Ramsey (Flamini 84′), Cazorla, Sanchez (Gibbs 84′); Giroud
Arsenal’s victory at the Etihad was the major springboard for their impressive conclusion to the season. The Gunners lost just two of their remaining 16 league games to finish third in the table – four points adrift of City, who fell away in March and April.
Chelsea waltzed to the title by an eight-point margin, but there was silverware at the end of the season for Wenger’s Gunners as they thumped Aston Villa 4-0 in the FA Cup final – their second consecutive triumph in the competition.