Arsenal dealt Manchester Citys title hopes a big blow after a thoroughly deserved 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Goals in either half from Santi Cazorla, who converted from the spot after Vincent Kompanys foul on Nacho Monreal, and Olivier Girouds header 20 minutes after the break inflicted Citys third defeat of the season.
Cazorla made no mistake form the spot in the 24th minute; forcefully placing the ball high to Joe Harts left after Kompany collided with Monreal as he tried to latch onto Girouds one-two.
City pushed for an equaliser in the first half but fell short as the Gunners produced a disciplined and resilient defensive display which the champions struggled to deal with.
A frantic start to the second period saw City create a number of chances but it was the visitors who struck to all-but secure the points.
Man of the match Cazorla delivered a free kick into the box for Giroud to nod past Hart from six yards and, after capitalising on Fernando’s lapse in concentration, the Frenchman duly obliged.
The result sees the Gunners move up to fifth in the table, a point adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United, while City remain second, five points off leaders Chelsea.
The focus before the game was on the return of Sergio Aguero and Kompany, who both returned from lengthy injury-induced spells on the touchline.
But it was the man who has orchestrated Citys recent rise to the top of the table, David Silva, started the game in a better fashion, dancing his way through the Arsenal defence in the opening exchanges.
After weathering an early onslaught, the Gunners sat deep and afforded their opponents little space to develop attacks inside their half. Instead, City enjoyed a large amount of possession high inside their half which allowed Arsenal to counter.
Alexis Sanchez raced towards the City goal in one attack moments before Giroud spurned a great chance to open the scoring on 18 minutes.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain collected the ball after Sanchezs break and whipped an enticing ball in the near-post area where the Frenchmans header appeared destined for the back of the net but was deflected out by Martin Demichelis.
The deadlock however was broken just five minutes later as Kompany, who made his first league appearance since December 13, was penalised for a clumsy challenge on Monreal.
Arsenal broke with intent before the left-back played a one-two with Giroud. As it appeared the left-back hade had got in behind the City defence, Kompany stepped into his path and Mike Dean had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
Cazorla calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net, and the Gunners were well worth their lead as City struggled to create clear-cut opportunities to reduce the deficit.
Jesus Navas broke on the stroke of half time but Francis Coquelins intervention to first tackle the Spaniard and then rise highest to head away the resulting corner typified the Arsenal performance.
Manuel Pellegrini brought on Stevan Jovetic at half time to bolster his attacking options, and it appeared to pay off as the hosts saw an effort from Aguero well saved by David Ospina before the change in tactics drew Arsenal out from their deep defensive position.
With the game open, Silva began to dictate things in the middle of the park, notably his pass to Navas for his cross across the face off goal which looked destined for the back of the net had Laurent Koscielny not got a toe on the ball.
Frank Lampard was introduced on the hour but City failed to create clear openings and they were punished minutes later as Giroud exploited some poor marking from the home side.
Cazorla added an assist to his earlier strike with a perfectly-weighted ball into the area where Giroud was on hand to convert, unchallenged, past Hart from close range.
As they had with the first goal, City rallied but couldnt quite get back into the game as late efforts from Jovetic and substitute Edin Dzeko were blocked and missed the target.
Arsenal had several chances to make it three in the closing stages but the result was in hand as City’s 12-game unbeaten run in the league game to an end.

Source Foxsporst