Fernandinho takes out Giroud clumsily and is also carded.
Giroud is swarmed by defenders and brought down just before he can release Walcott down the right-hand side. The England man would have been completely in the clear as well!
90' +1
N. Otamendi gets yellow.
Otamendi batters Wilshere and is booked.
90'
OFF THE BAR! That deserved to be the winner! The cross comes in from the right-hand side and Bony sweeps it towards goal with an outstanding side-footed volley, but the woodwork comes to Arsenal's rescue!
88'
City hold their line from the free-kick and Koscielny is caught offside just as he crashes a header off the crossbar. Moments later, groans echo around as Sagna plays an aimless ball forward.
86'
City fans look tense, and not one of then knows what to do with their hands. Arsenal have a free-kick in a decent position for a left-footer to put in a good in-swinger into the danger area.
84'
Mangala gives the ball away to Coquelin, who tries to beat Toure but is out-muscled by the Ivorian, who takes off into the Arsenal half. Undaunted, the French midfielder tracks back and nips the ball off his toes on the edge of the box.
82'
Nerves abound in the stands as City push for a late winner. They haven't beaten any of the top five this season. Could Guardiola be walking into an entire season of Thursday night football?
80'
City, however, know that without a victory here, they could be usurped in the top four by Manchester United, if the Red Devils win their final two games. Huge final 10 minutes on the agenda here!
79'
W. Bony enters the game and replaces Jesús Navas.
Y. Touré enters the game and replaces Fernando.
Fernando is off and Toure is on.
Navas has been replaced by Bony.
77'
No telling where this game will end up. City and Arsenal both have looked threatening in the latter stages of the second half. This result suits the visitors just fine, as they secure top four with it.
Minute
Description
76'
F. Coquelin enters the game and replaces Mohamed Elneny.
Elneny off and Coquelin on.
75'
NEARLY A SPECTACULAR GO-AHEAD GOAL! Aguero plays a lovely one-two with De Bruyne, and lashes a superb effort for the far corner that misses by not much more than an inch!
73'
The free-kick was at perhaps too much of an angle for De Bruyne to strike, but no one told the Belgian. He manages to drive it on target, but it's right at Cech who parries over the bar for good measure.
71'
R. Sterling enters the game and replaces K. Ịheanachọ.
Gabriel Paulista gets yellow.
Iheanacho is off and Sterling is on.
De Bruyne has the ball in a dangerous position on the edge of the box and he decides to cut in. This time, Gabriel reads his intentions but is so eager to stop the move that he comes in late and concedes the foul and a yellow card.
70'
Moments after I criticized him, Alexis shows why Arsenal need more players of his calibre by starting and finishing a goal with his typical brand of energy and will. This match can go anywhere but that doesn't mean that you should!
68'
A. Sánchez has scored a goal for Arsenal! Assist by O. Giroud.
A one-touch layoff - classic Giroud assist.
ARSENAL ARE LEVEL AGAIN! Alexis starts the move with a driving run from midfield. He plays the ball into Giroud at the edge of the box, and the Frenchman lays it off for the Chilean to smash into the bottom corner!
WIDE OF THE MARK! Arsenal continue to push forward, and it's the newly introduced Walcott that is put through, but his first touch is heavy and he prods his finish well off Hart in the City goal!
67'
Alexis slams a ball into the legs of a defender. We've hardly seen anything from the Chilean in this game. He's endured a trying season in general, with a long injury lay off not helping matters.
65'
The referee errs and awards Arsenal a corner when the last touch appeared to come off a Gunner. This time, Mangala drapes himself all over Giroud, locking arms in what surely must be an illegal manner!
63'
Otamendi spots De Bruyne making a run centrally, but his pass has a little too much loft on it, and that allows Koscielny to head it back for Cech to gather. Under half-hour to go now.
61'
To be fair to Arsenal, they've responded well to that last City goal, but Giroud ruins a decent move with a first-time volley that ends up in the stands. I feel like the scoring isn't done in this one though.
59'
T. Walcott enters the game and replaces A. Iwobi.
Iwobi will depart for Walcott.
Giroud shapes inside the box for an overhead kick, but it's taken off his toes by Otamendi with an excellent defensive play. Moments later, the Frenchman heads over the bar from an offside position.
57'
I just saw a replay of the De Bruyne goal again, and Bellerin has to take the initial blame fo allowing himself to be shrugged off by the Belgian, and then giving up on the play. Of course, he could have then been stopped by Elneny or Gabriel, but neither were able to come up with the goods.
55'
BIG CHANCE! Iheanacho strides forward and he has options either side of him, including Navas in ACRES of space. He decides to take it all on his own, but his finish is terrible, side-footed into a harmless area.
53'
This lead is no less than City have deserved, but Cech will be disappointed that he didn't manage to get a hand to that De Bruyne strike, given that it's placement wasn't matched by power.
51'
K. De Bruyne has scored a goal for Manchester City!
DE BRUYNE PUTS CITY AHEAD! Wonderful goal from the Belgian, who has been excellent this afternoon. He takes off from around the halfway line, and leaves three players in his wake before sneaking a shot inside the near post!
50'
Much like the first half, City are dominating the ball and looking the more threatening outfit. Arsenal have not held the ball in the opposition half for more than a beat or two, and are playing catch-up.
48'
Chance for Fernandinho as he's played through by Aguero. The angle is tight though, and it's made even worse by him delaying his shot on goal, which ends up not troubling Cech one bit.
46'
And we're back!
45' +1
Wow, De Bruyne will not want to remember that one. He takes aim from 30 yards, but the ball is sky-high and wide enough that it was closer to the corner flag than Cech's right-hand post.
44'
De Bruyne sprays the ball left for Clichy, who stands a cross up to the centre of the area where a leaping Aguero can't make contact. Navas tries to attack the follow up, but he's blocked.
42'
An outside-of-the-boot cross from De Bruyne sneaks towards the near post, but Cech is all over it. Moments later, Alexis has a scamper down the left and tries to dink in a cross, but it's deflected into the arms of Hart.
40'
To be honest, Joe Hart has had nothing to do since fishing the ball out of the back of the net after Giroud's goal. Arsenal are struggling terribly to present a coherent offensive effort here.
38'
De Bruyne bursts forward and with the help of Iheanacho, keeps possession beyond an Elneny challenge. He tries to push it further with a throughball for Aguero to chase, but Koscielny intercepts.
36'
Giroud is down on the deck rubbing his head after a physical clash with Mangala, and the referee calls for the medical staff. However, the Frenchman is back on his feet soon as he has no desire to be taken off.
34'
Navas has the ball in an advanced position down the right-hand side, but his cross is blocked by Monreal. It's been an interesting battle between the two Spaniards in this game, and the City man has already made a decisive impact with his pre-assist.
32'
City continue to dominate the ball, to the tune of 61 per cent possession. They've also won four corners to Arsenal's one, and have out-shot the Gunners by a five-to-one margin. However,the one shot on target by the visitors is all they've needed so far.
30'
Arsenal are playing on the counter here, which I feel can be a more effective style of play for them. Some of their best results in recent seasons have come when intentionally surrendering their usual dominance of the ball.
28'
Aguero is through for a moment, but gets taken out by Cech legally. The play is still alive for Manchester City, and the Argentine is back on the ball, but he's soon crowded out by the defence.
26'
Iwobi does well to draw two players towards him, then find Monreal as the spare man. The Spaniard rifles in a tingling cross, but it's taken off the head of Alexis by Otamendi inside the area.
24'
J. Wilshere enters the game and replaces D. Welbeck.
Doesn't look at all like Welbeck will be able to take further part in this one. In fact, he's headed straight down the tunnel with a despondent look on his face. Arsenal will need to make an early change.
WIlshere is finally allowed to come on for Welbeck.
22'
Trouble here for Welbeck and Arsenal, with the England striker having some discomfort in his knee. He's probably going to try to soldier on for a bit here as Wenger looks to his bench.
20'
The game has settled down a bit here, although Elneny needs to show a lot of fight to block Iheanacho's shot from the edge of the area. Arsenal are still struggling to put passes together.
18'
VITAL BLOCK FROM GABRIEL! Fernando shows silky footwork to sneak down the left-hand side, and he lays one off for Aguero, who shifts it to his right foot and lets fly, with the Brazilian deflecting it over the bar!
16'
Aguero, by the way, is now on 24 league goals for the season. He's level with Jamie Vardy and one behind Harry Kane in the race for the golden boot. It's also six EPL games in a row now that he's scored, a best-ever run for him.
14'
What relief for Giroud, who sees a long goal drought broken at last. What a game we have on our hands too - City looked like running away with it for a second but the Gunners are toe-to-toe with them again!
12'
De Bruyne and Aguero both charge forward menacingly again, with last-ditch clearances by Koscielny and Gabriel needed to get rid of the danger! End-to-end stuff!
10'
O. Giroud has scored a goal for Arsenal! Assist by Mohamed Elneny.
Elneny laid that one on for Giroud with his corner.
GIROUD BRINGS ARSENAL BACK ON TERMS! From the resulting corner after that Clichy-Hart mishap, Mangala runs away from Giroud to meet the cross, mis-times his jump, and allows the Frenchman to plant a lovely header into the back of the net!
9'
NEARLY A CATASTROPHIC OWN GOAL! Arsenal dig out a cross that appears to be routine for Clichy and Hart, but the Frenchman's back-header sneaks past the keeper and rebounds out off the post!
8'
S. Agüero has scored a goal for Manchester City! Assist by Fernandinho.
Intelligent knock down from Fernandinho to set up Aguero!
YES THEY CAN! AGUERO GIVES THEM THE LEAD! Navas hooks in a cross to Fernandinho inside the box, and the Brazilian nods it into the path of Aguero, who whacks it expertly into the bottom corner from the edge of the area!
7'
Arsenal are really struggling to get the ball out of their own defensive third, with a dangerous cross from Navas just about headed clear by Koscielny. Can City put some product to this purpose?
5'
De Bruyne's free-kick is dangerous, but caught well by Cech. Moments later, the Belgian puts Aguero through, but the Argentine's menacing square ball across the face of goal doesn't find any takers.
3'
City have started the stronger side here, showing more desire to win 50-50's and beat Arsenal to the punch on a few challenges. Aguero is looking lively as he darts between the centre-backs.
1'
Off we go!
Hello and welcome to our live commentary of the Premier League clash between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad. The scramble for positioning behind champions Leicester will come down to the final day, with both of these teams looking to secure a top-three finish. Stick with us for all the action.
Manuel Pellegrini takes charge of his final home game as City manager. With Arsenal three points ahead and Manchester United only a point behind in fifth, he knows that a win is vital to edge into the final automatic Champions League qualification spot. Even a draw won't be the worst result, given that they trail the Gunners by only one strike in goal difference - the tie-breaker if they finish level on points.
Arsenal were handed a boost by Tottenham's 2-1 loss at home to Southampton earlier in the day, meaning that they still have a chance of finishing in second place. A win will take them level on points with their London rivals, but behind on goal difference, taking that battle down to the final day. Three points here will also ensure Arsene Wenger's men of third place and a guaranteed spot in the Champions League group stages.
This match was billed as a title decider whe the fixture list was first released, but with both of these sides disappointing hugely in the league, it has taken on a much less glamorous, but still significant connotation. Arsenal haven't lost in their last five games against City, with the Manchester club's last win against the Gunners coming in a 6-3 thriller in December 2013.
Man City (4-4-2): Hart; Sagna, Mangala, Otamendi, Clichy; Navas, Fernando, Fernandinho, De Bruyne; Iheanacho, Aguero.
Man City subs: Caballero, Sterling, Bony, Delph, Demichelis, Toure, Tasende.
Arsenal subs: Ospina, Gibbs, WIlshere, Walcott, Cazorla, Campbell, Coquelin.
Yaya Toure has been left out of the starting XI for this clash, with Pellegrini opting to go with two up front in the form of Sergio Aguero and Kelechi Iheanacho. Vincent Kompany and David Silva are both injured for this clash, giving the likes of Eliaquim Mangala and Jesus Navas a start.
Mesut Ozil is injured, meaning that Arsene Wenger opts for Alex Iwobi in the attacking midfield slot, with Danny Welbeck adopting a position on the left-hand side, with Olivier Giroud also leading the line. Per Mertesacker is sidelined, giving Gabriel a spot in defence, while Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla are not risked from the beginning.
And that will do it for now from the Etihad, as Arsenal and Manchester City go into the break locked on a goal apiece. Aguero opened the scoring to bookend a fast start for the hosts, but Groud nodded the Gunners level two minutes later. There's not been too many chances outside of that, but the home side will feel that they enjoyed the better of the first half. Stay tuned for the restart in just a bit.
And that's it. Manuel Pellegrini's last match at the Etihad ends in worry as City drop two points to Arsenal, opening the door for Manchster United to pip them to the final Champions League spot! It's out of their hands now. Second, third and fourth are still up for grabs, with Arsenal, City and United all brandishing their knives, waiting for any more slip-ups. A great game here, and a lot still to come as we finish the season. Thanks for joining us.
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