Martin Demichelis's late header salvaged a point for Manchester City in an early-season match of title contenders at the Emirates Stadium. It was a day for new beginnings, as new signing Danny Welbeck made his debut for the Gunners and former Chelsea star Frank Lampard made his first start for Manchester City.
Welbeck almost marked his debut with a goal, but his floating chance struck the left post and he was left to rue his missed opportunity.
Sergio Agüero opened the scoring in the 28th minute following a perfect pass from Jesus Navas that the Argentinian was able to slot home past Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny. Arsenal equalized in the 63rd minute with a goal from English international Jack Wilshere, who rounded Gael Clichy and then lofted the ball over Manchester City keeper Joe Hart.
Wilshere was also at the center of the action for Arsenal's go-ahead goal nine minutes later, as he centered a header that summer-signing Alexis Sanchez finished in the 74th minute to give the Gunners the lead.
Unfortunately for Arsenal fans, the Gunners couldn't hold the lead at home, as much-maligned defender Martin Demichelis leveled the proceedings in the 83rd minute following a mixup between Laurent Koscielny and Szczesny. The goal allowed City to escape the Emirates with a hard-earned point.
Though it is only 4/38s of the way through the season, the result leaves Manchester City in 5th place and Arsenal in 7th place in the table. More importantly than the position, it leaves City 5 points behind Chelsea and Arsenal 6 points behind the Blues after only 4 matches. Once again, it is very early, but with the impressive displays that the Blues have been putting on, it is not the kind of deficit that a contender would fancy having to overcome. Manchester City draws Chelsea at home next weekend, which is an excellent opportunity to narrow the gap.
Follow Mike Smith on Twitter @thefootiegent
