There was a moment in the fag end of the match that perhaps perfectly summed up the match. David Silva beautifully slid in a low pass to Edin Dzeko, whose left footed effort was parried excellently by Szczesny. It fell to Samir Nasri, who comfortably turned it into the empty goal, only to realise that he had been ruled offside, much to the delight of the Arsenal fans.
Danny Welbeck too, grafting hard on his debut will reflect on what might have been after his chipped effort sailed comfortably off the onrushing Joe Hart, only to rebound off the post into the goalkeeper's arms. Arsenal had been dominant, with central midfielders Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey combining very well around the box, and Alexis Sanchez a constant threat in wide areas. The change in formation from a 4-3-2-1 to a 4-1-4-1 seemed to be working well, the midfielders ensuring that Matheiu Flamini wouldn't have much to do in his defensive midfield role, at least for the opening half hour.
And it was on the hour mark that City burst into life. Jesus Navas raced down the right flank, exploiting the acres of space left by Nacho Monreal, and squared it to the ever present Sergio Aguero, who was never going to make a mistake from 5 yards out. It was a perfect example of the difference in the two clubs' philosophies. Arsenal, so much in control, playing attractive football perhaps tried too hard to hit the perfect goal, and lacked decisiveness in front of goal; City were ruthlessly clinical in the few chances they had.
There were to be more chances though, as the Citizens went on the offensive, with Navas and Aguero actively attempting to push forward and exploit the Gunners' somewhat sluggish backline. Fernandinho was as effective in midfield as Frank Lampard wasn't, the Brazilian constantly looking to disrupt Arsenal's rhythm, flirting with danger along the way. Lampard in contrast was hardly involved in the first half and perhaps deservedly subbed off at the end of the half.
Mesut Ozil too saw the game pass him by for much of the 90 minutes, fading away just as many feared. The image was that of a man devoid of confidence, and with the return of Theo Walcott on the cards, more games like these could, incredibly, see the German's place in the starting eleven in threat.
A man whose performance has given his confidence a much needed boost, however, is Jack Wilshere. After doing a decent job for England in a holding role last week, the Englishman was given free reign in a central midfield spot alongside the typically excellent Aaron Ramsey, and showed once again why he still is regarded ever so highly, delightfully chipping Joe Hart after a beautiful interchange of passes between him, Ramsey and Sanchez, and then setting up Arsenal's second goal with an excellent header to Sanchez, who sized it up and sidefooted a wonderfully struck volley past Joe Hart to give The Gunners the lead in a deafening atmosphere.
And they looked back in control, with the match seeing some scintillating end-to-end action before Martin Demichelis, a man whose reputation perhaps still hasn't quite recovered from that disastrous Champions League match against Barcelona, headed a corner from the powerful Aleksandar Kolarov into the net to make it 2-2.
And it would stay that way, despite some late action including Edin Dzeko's scrappy chip onto the post and Kolarov's powerful drive which ricocheted off the outside of the post as well.
Injuries, though, will be a major worry for Arsene Wenger. Matheiu Debuchy from the looks of it faces a considerable time on the sidelines after an awkward landing in which he seemingly damaged his ankle. Equally worryingly, Danny Welbeck too could be injured, the forward spending two minutes on the ground, before being substituted, although he did get up and attempt a long range strike before coming off.
The future seems bright for Arsenal, and with Sanchez finally finding his feet, will look to the upcoming title race with renewed optimism. One wonders if the same can be said for City.
