Duo off as Man City hold Arsenal
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Arsenal's Bacary Sagna (R) volleys the ball as Manchester City's Carlos Tevez reacts during their English Premier League soccer match at the Emirates Stadium in London January 5, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
The dominant Aresenal failed to beat Manchester City at the Emirates on Wednesday as the struggling visitors brought a lucky point from a 0-0 draw.
The Gunners led by captain Cesc Fabregas overwhelmed their rivals most part of the game, but England goalkeeper Joe Hart kept their efforts in vain with help from the posts.
Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott all struck the post in the first half while Man City could hardly make any threat.
The home side kept their sharpness after the interval but Hart performed bravely to tip over Van Persie's left-foot strike in the 60th minute before saved Andrey Arshavin's shot calmly with five minutes remaining in the regular time.
Finally, both sides failed to break the deadlock while Arsenal's Bacary Sagna and Man City's Pablo Zabaleta were sent off after a confrontation in the 90th minute.
The goalless draw means Manchester City could lead the Premier League with a two-point advantage over Man City while Aresnal stay on the third place with four points behind the leaders.
The defending champions Chelsea suffered a shocking blow as Jose Boswinga's own goal in the fifth minute led them to a 1-0 loss to the Wolves, who then managed to climb out of the relegation zone with the deserved three points.
The Blues only took one victory from their last nine Premier League matches and their hope of defending the title seems vague as they are nine points behind the Red Devils.
Tottenham also lost their away game on Wednesday as Everton won 2-1.
Aston Villa were defeated by Sunderland with Phil Bardsley's only goal in the 80th minute. Blackburn sent off Liverpool 3-1 while Newcastle smashed West Ham 5-0 at home. Bolton and Wigan took one point each after a 1-1 draw.
