Arsenal beat Man City, closing in on the top spot.

Arsenal secured a 2-1 victory in a crucial match against Manchester City, rivals for the Premier League title, on the evening of December 21st.

Giroud scored from an assist by Ozil. Photo: Reuters.

Arsenal aren't currently leading the Premier League. But Arsene Wenger's team are certainly among the strongest contenders to lift the trophy at the end of the season. After many years of playing with a naive attitude, Arsenal have developed the necessary character of a champion, as Wenger mentioned before the match.

Arsenal's character is that they can win big games, those must-win matches to get closer to the title. They did that against Man Utd, against Olympiacos, and against Man City last night.

In the first half, Theo Walcott and Oliver Giroud punished Manchester City's defensive errors with classy finishes. Arsenal's focused defense secured the victory, despite Yaya Toure's spectacular late goal.

The victory puts Arsenal four points ahead of Man City and two points behind leaders Leicester. After 11 years without a Premier League title, Arsenal now have the ability and the opportunity to end their poor run.

Manchester City arrived at the Emirates with a full complement of star players including David Silva, Sergio Aguero, and Yaya Toure. Manager Manuel Pellegrini was only missing captain Vincent Kompany due to a long-term injury. The first half was exciting with attacking play from both teams. Manchester City created the first dangerous opportunity, but Kevin De Bruyne failed to capitalize. The Belgian midfielder, in a one-on-one situation with Petr Cech, shot wide of the post.

De Bruyne must surely regret it when Arsenal opened the scoring from an attack that followed immediately afterwards. Walcott turned right outside the penalty area unmarked. The English striker had enough time to adjust, then unleashed a beautiful shot that beat Joe Hart.

Man City continued to show weaknesses in their defense. Towards the end of the first half, Mangala made a misplaced pass, creating a quick counter-attack opportunity for the opposition. Ozil passed the ball to Giroud, and the French striker finished from a tight angle, sending the ball through Hart's legs and into the net. Arsenal had two shots on target in the first half and scored two goals.

Man City exerted continuous pressure in the latter part of the second half but were unable to score an equalizer. Photo: KQ.

The second half unfolded with a completely different scenario. Arsenal dropped back to play defensively and counter-attack. The defenders and goalkeeper Cech did their jobs very well. The Czech goalkeeper made six saves. Mertesacker and Monreal also made several tackles to avert danger.

Arsenal created dangerous counter-attacking opportunities in the second half but failed to capitalize on any of them. In the 82nd minute, Toure played a one-two with Sagna just outside the penalty area before unleashing a shot into the top corner, leaving Cech helpless. In the final 10 minutes, Man City launched a full-scale attack, pressing Arsenal who were forced into a defensive posture. Bony missed a chance to equalize, leaving Man City empty-handed at the Emirates.

According to VNE