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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
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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)

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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.

76 MINS

Substitution: Sane is replaced by Navas

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:34

78 MINS

Substitution: Oxlade-Chamberlain is replaced by El-Neny due to injury. 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:35

80 MINS

Yellow card:  Kevin De Bruyne receives a booking for a late challenge on Gabriel.

The 25-year-old has put in a good shift today for The Citizens and the assist for Sterlings goal was sublime. He's a joy to watch when he performs.

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:38

Ozil a really talented player, but give me Silva or De Bruyne over him every time.

Mark Ogden18 December 2016 17:39

83 MINS

Arsenal move forward with an attack led by El-Neny but the City back four manage to deal with the danger. Giroud goes for the headed attempt from the cross, but it goes well wide. The Frenchman is renowned for his ability to bring his side back into a game - so they need him now more than ever. 

Substitution: De Bruyne is replaced by Iheanacho

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:40

86 MINS

Otamendi takes down Ozil with a late challenge to give The Gunners a free-kick just outside of the penalty area. 

Ozil stands over the set piece, but it fails to find an Arsenal head and Bravo clumps the ball away with a punch. Good goalkeeping from the 33-year-old.

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:43

TOTTENHAM 2 - 1 BURNLEY

Tottenham regain the lead at White Hart Lane with a goal from Danny Rose.

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:44

88 MINS

Arsenal relentlessly defend the City attacks, but they are failing to create any opportunities themselves. Iheanacho looks like he has a point to prove out there since coming on as a late substitute. 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:47

90 MINS

There will be a minimum of four minutes additional time. 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:49

FULL TIME

MANCHESTER CITY 2 - 1 ARSENAL

Guardiola's men redeemed themselves from an one goal deficit, with second-half goals from Sane and Sterling. This fixture was a tale of two halves, with Arsenal controlling prior to the break, but City dominating for the remainder. An early goal from Walcott was not enough of to allow his side to go off the boil and they paid the ultimate price for their dismal display in the latter stages of the game. 

Manchester City deserve applause for their first win after being behind at half time since 2012. They showed relentless spirit and determination to pull off the comeback and they will be leaving the Etihad today with a deserved three points. 

That's all from us today, I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. Always a pleasure. 

Feel free to tweet me any comments about today's Super Sunday games on @joooemiles. 

Joe Miles18 December 2016 17:55

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