Arsenal have sent a statement to the rest of the Premier League by producing a brilliant performance to claim the scalp of Manchester City at Eastlands.
The Gunners moved up to second with a 3-0 win as they pushed City down the fourth and staked their claim as a genuine title contender this season.
City had defender Dedryck Boyata sent off in just the 5th minute and they were chasing tail for the rest of the contest as Arsenal went ahead fifteen minutes later when Samir Nasri played a one-two with Andrey Arshavin before chipping over Joe Hart to grab his fourth of the season.
In the 40th minute, Hart was able to produce a brilliant save to deny Gunners skipper Cesc Fabregas from the penalty spot but it mattered little as the visitors went two ahead in the 66th minute thanks to an opportunistic Alex Song goal.
The win was complete two minutes from time when 84th minute substituteNicklas Bendtner netted his first of the season after returning from injury to help his side to a stirring win.
Manchester City: 0 Arsenal: 3 (Samir Nasri 20', Alex Song 66', Nicklas Bendtner 88')
Venue: City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester Crowd: 47,393 Referee:Mark ClattenburgYellow cards:MC - Gareth Barry 13', Vincent Kompany 72' ARS - Denilson 8', Cesc Fabregas 27', Alex Song 33', Johan Djourou 36' Red card:MC - Dedryck Boyata 5'
Starting Line-Ups
MC Joe Hart (gk), Vincent Kompany, Dedryck Boyata, Jerome Boateng, Micah Richards, Gareth Barry (Balotelli 72'), Nigel de Jong, Yaya Toure (Bridge 46'), James Milner, David Silva, Carlos Tevez (Adebayor 52')
Subs - Shay Given (gk), Wayne Bridge (46'), Emmanuel Adebayor (52'), Mario Balotelli (72'), Adam Johnson, Joleon Lescott, Patrick Vieira
ARSLukasz Fabianski (gk), Johan Djourou, Sebastien Squillaci, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Denilson, Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas (Walcott 85'), Andrey Arshavin (Rosicky 70'), Samir Nasri, Marouane Chamakh (Bendtner 84')
Subs - Wojciech Szczesny (gk), Tomas Rosicky (70'), Nicklas Bendtner (84'), Theo Walcott (85'), Emmanuel Eboue, Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny
