Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

Manchester City vs Arsenal live: Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane seal comeback victory to dent Gunners' hopes

Follow the latest from the Premier League clash between City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium

Joe Miles
Friday 16 December 2016 17:17 GMT
Comments
Leroy Sane watches the ball into the back of the net after beating Petr Cech
Leroy Sane watches the ball into the back of the net after beating Petr Cech (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Manchester City can dent Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes and move above the Gunners in the process when they face-off at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with Arsene Wenger’s side looking to close the gap to runaway leaders Chelsea to six points. Follow the latest here.

  • Manchester City vs Arsenal kicks off at 16:00 GMT
  • City without suspended Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho
  • Ilkay Gundogan ruled out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage
  • Teams:
  • Manchester City: Bravo; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Kolarov, Clichy; Fernando; Sané, Touré, Silva, Sterling; De Bruyne
  • Subs: Caballero, Sagna, Stones, Nolito, Navas, Iheanacho, A Garcia
  • Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Xhaka; Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi; Sanchez.
  • Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Holding, Elneny, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lucas, Giroud.

Follow the live action below...

Please allow a moment for the blog to load...

Arsenal cannot afford to slip up when they travel to Manchester City on Sunday or else risk dropping nine points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, while City also find themselves in a perilous position after a run of poor form.

With a Gunners a solitary point ahead of fourth-placed City, the match will see two sides having their title credentials tested go head to head with the loser in danger of falling out of the title picture.

City go into the match on the back foot, with Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho suspended and Ilkay Gundogan ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in Wednesday’s victory over Watford.

At least City enter the match off the back of a win though. Arsenal suffered a surprising defeat at Everton on Tuesday in which they were soundly beaten by a team more determined to grab the three points. They could have Aaron Ramsey back for the match, but Arsene Wenger confirmed it comes too soon for Danny Welbeck while Shkodran Mustafi, Per Mertesacker and Santi Cazorla remain long-term absentees.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Premier League encounter.

It’s a big game for...

Nolito: The Spain international replaced youngster Kelechi Iheanacho for the win over Watford and is likely to continue as the lead striker for the visit of Arsenal. He has big shoes to fill, as the absent Aguero has scored four goals against Arsenal during his Premier League career.

Best stat...

3.2: This clash tends to produce goals, with 32 goals scored between the two sides over their last 10 meetings. City’s biggest victory remains the 6-3 demolition on December 2013, while Arsenal have not managed to better the 3-0 Community Shield victory in 2014 as their best league triumph came in the 2-0 win in January 2015.

Who to look out for...

Alexis Sanchez: The Arsenal striker is running red-hot this season and the ongoing contract negotiations with the club do not appear to be a distraction. Sanchez has 14 goals this season for his club along with two more for his country, and the Chilean now has as many league goals as Diego Costa this season along with the same number of assists in fewer minutes.

Likely teams...

Manchester City: Bravo; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Kolarov, Clichy; Toure, Fernando, Sterling, Silva De Bruyne; Nolito.

Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Ghaka, Coquelin, Walcott, Özil, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Sanchez.

Past three meetings...

Manchester City 2 (Aguero, De Bruyne) Arsenal (Giroud, Sanchez), Premier League, May 2016.

Arsenal 2 (Walcott, Giroud) Manchester City 1 (Toure), Premier League, December 2015.

Manchester City 0 Arsenal 2 (Cazorla, Giroud), Premier League, January 2015.

Ilkay Gundogan will miss the rest of the season for City
Ilkay Gundogan will miss the rest of the season for City (PA)

Form...

Manchester City: DWLDLW

Arsenal: WLWWWL

Odds...

Manchester City to win: 23/20

Arsenal to win: 5/2

Draw: 13/5

(Odds provided by 888sport)

Where can you watch it...

Manchester City vs Arsenal is live on Sky Sports 1 from 15:30.

Highlights on BBC One on Monday at 22:45.

You can also follow it with The Independent’s live blog live on Sunday afternoon.

Fourth official Stuart Attwell is getting an absolute battering here from Pochettino and Sean Dyche.

Jack Pitt-Brooke18 December 2016 16:38

38 MINS

Yellow card: Silva picks up a booking for a late challenge of Coquelin in the middle of the pitch. It's a ruthless challenge. 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 16:38

41 MINS

Sanchez has gone to ground following a clash with Otamendi. He looks in pain, but is attempting to get back up and continue. The Arsenal fans will not like seeing their striking superstar on the ground. 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 16:42

44 MINS

An impressive Arsenal move comes to a premature end due to the offside flag. The attack began with Ozil who found Sanchez, but the through ball to Monreal was just off.

Wenger will be desperate for his men to hold out until the interval. 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 16:45

45 MINS

There will be a minimum of one additional minute 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 16:46

HALF TIME

MANCHESTER CITY 1 - 0 ARSENAL

The visitors enter the interval with a one goal advantage, thanks to an early goal from Walcott. Guardiola's men have failed to find their feet throughout and despite showing glimpses of brilliance - they really need to step it up a gear in the second half. City controlled the majority of possession, but failed to control the rhythm of the game. The Gunners were exploiting their vulnerable defence with constant counter attacks and the speed of the strikers were proving a problem in the final third. 

De Bruyne and Silva have looked encouraging for the home side, but their efforts were unrewarded as they lacked the final product in every move. 

We are set for an exciting second-half. Don't go anywhere...

Joe Miles18 December 2016 16:48

HT 1-1. Spurs playing really well here, silly goal they conceded aside. Will surely go on and win.

Jack Pitt-Brooke18 December 2016 16:51

HT substitution: Sagna has replaced Zabaleta 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:01

47 MINS

GOAL

MANCHESTER CITY 1 - 1 ARSENAL

Sane has restores parity for his side, with a goal from the first attacking move of the second half. Silva assisted the scorer with a delicate over the top ball, the striker then picked up possession and calmly slotted the ball past Cech. 

What a game we have on our hands now. 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:05

50 MINS

Arsenals response to the equaliser will be crucial, as City are now playing like a team with a point to prove. Guardiola's half time words must have been something special. 

Yellow card: Toure goes into the book for a challenge into the back of Iwobi. 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:08

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in