Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Read Jamie Jackson’s match report:
The final whistle is greeted by boos from the Manchester City fans and Manuel Pellegrini’s final home game ends in disappointment. Manchester City led twice but Alexis Sanchez’s equaliser means that their place in next season’s Champions League is in serious doubt now. Their fate is out of their hands - Manchester United will finish fourth if they win at West Ham on Tuesday and beat Bournemouth at home next Sunday. Uh oh. As for Arsenal, they weren’t at their best but they fought back commendably and that should be enough for them to finish third at least. Thanks for reading and emailing. Bye.
Full-time: Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal
It’s over!
Updated
90 min+2: Fernandinho is fouled Giroud and City’s fight is fizzling out.
90 min+1: Otamendi is booked for fouling Walcott.
90 min: There will be three minutes of stoppage time. Up you step, Sergio.
Updated
88 min: Bony, who has been such a waste of time at City, almost makes himself a hero! A cross finds him unmarked in the area and he connects cleanly with a hooked volley, only for his effort to crash against the bar and away to safety.
87 min: De Bruyne bustles into the area from the right and almost sets up Aguero. But not quite.
86 min: Koscielny heads against the bar! But he’s offside. Relax.
Updated
85 min: Unless City score, they’ll be needing a favour from West Ham on Tuesday. And West Ham were dreadful yesterday.
82 min: Jack Wilshere awkwardly volleys a clearance over his own bar. Cech was worried for a moment there. Nothing comes from the corner.
81 min: “So, this week, we have had the following: player lost for the season (Mertesacker), player suffered a “setback” during injury recovery (Ox), player injured and pulled from lineup prior to match (Ozil), and player injured and replaced before halftime (Welbeck),” says Daniel Finucane. “In the spirit of yesterday’s Derby, is this the Typical Arsenal Injuries super exacta?”
79 min: City make a double substitution, Wilfried Bony and Yaya Toure replacing Jesus Navas and Fernando.
76 min: Francis Coquelin on, Mohamed Elneny off.
75 min: Roberto Firmino has made it Liverpool 2-0 Watford.
74 min: Aguero spins on the left and finds De Bruyne, who scoops it back into the path of the Argentinian, whose shot towards the far corner skims this far wide. Cech was beaten. That would have been a stunning goal.
73 min: From the resulting corner from De Bruyne, Aguero steers a difficult volley wide at the far post.
Updated
72 min: From a tight angle, De Bruyne decides to shoot. But Cech palms his fierce effort over, despite nearby interference from Otamendi.
71 min: Manchester City make their first change, Raheem Sterling replacing Kelechi Iheanacho. Moments later, Gabriel barges De Bruyne over just outside the area on the left. He’s booked.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal (Sanchez, 69 min)
This had been coming. Alexis Sanchez, who has offered very little this afternoon, is allowed to drive forward from the left, City’s midfield nowhere to be seen. He pings a pass to Giroud, who carves City open with a wonderful flicked lay-off back to Sanchez, who fools Hart by eyeing the left corner and clipping the ball inside the right with his right foot. Arsenal hit back again!
Updated
67 min: Elneny finds Giroud on the edge of the City area and he plays Walcott in with a lovely first time ball. Yet Walcott’s touch is heavy, encouraging Hart to come out, and he can only prod the ball wide. Arsenal are pressing, though.
Updated
66 min: Clichy gambles by trying to read a pass to Walcott’s feet - instead, however, it’s played inside him and Walcott’s away. He slides the ball into the middle, towards Giroud, but it’s fine defending from Otamendi, who cuts the cross out in the six-yard box.
65 min: Walcott involves himself for the first time. He beats Clichy, before winning a corner off Mangala. The City fans behind the goal are furious, claiming it should have been a goal-kick. But it doesn’t matter. Arsenal don’t score.
63 min: Elneny is hassled into conceding a throw by Iheanacho. The City fans appreciated that.
61 min: Bellerin charges down the right and clips a ball into the middle. It’s headed away as far as Giroud, who larrumps an awkward first time volley miles wide.
60 min: Giroud heads over from close range. But the flag’s up for offside anyway. “Regarding Iheanacho’s failure to set up Navas a couple minutes ago I must say not passing to Navas so he can take a shot is always the correct option,” says JR in Illinois. “He had Aguero open on his left though.”
59 min: Theo Walcott replaces Alex Iwobi, who’s not been able to make any impact whatsoever today.
58 min: A moment of high comedy as referee Anthony Taylor infuriates Arsenal by blocking a Wilshere pass with his stomach.
56 min: Cech was quite slow to get down to De Bruyne’s shot and I’m not sure he’ll be pleased to have been beaten at his near post. Bring back Ospina.
54 min: City counter through Iheanacho, with Arsenal utterly exposed. The young striker uses pace and strength to leave Monreal on the floor - but when he reaches the area, he should set up Navas. Instead he chooses the selfish option, showing his inexperience by placing a shot well wide. That was a waste.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal (De Bruyne, 51 min)
Out of nothing, Kevin de Bruyne scores a wonderful individual goal to restore City’s lead! He began his run just inside the Arsenal half, leaving a trail of opposition players in his wake, and it opened up for him when he cut inside from the left. Arsenal’s defence backed off, allowing the Belgian to drill a precise low shot inside Cech’s near post from 20 yards.
Updated
49 min: All of a sudden, Fernandinho is surging clear down the inside right channel. But he doesn’t have much support and doesn’t back himself to beat Koscielny, so he shoots over from a tight angle.
Updated
48 min: It’s been a low-key start to the second half. Maybe the heat’s getting to everyone.
46 min: Manchester City get us going again.
On Sky, Graeme Souness is criticising Mohamed Elneny for his attempt to tackle Aguero for City’s goal, while Thierry Henry is horrified by the defending that led to Giroud’s leveller. He wonders why Joe Hart was laughing when Gael Clichy almost scored an own goal. I suspect it stemmed from the City goalkeeper’s exasperation.
Half-time: Manchester City 1-1 Arsenal
Manchester City have shaded it so far and took the lead through Sergio Aguero, before they demonstrated their character and defensive nous by allowing Olivier Giroud to equalise a minute later. It’s been a surprisingly enjoyable match. See you in 15 minutes.
Updated
45 min: There will be a minimum of two added minutes. City are pressing, but Arsenal are looking more comfortable at the moment. De Bruyne sends an ambitious shot miles over from 30 yards.
Updated
43 min: City could do with more from Iheanacho, who has been quiet so far. As usual, there’s too much focus on Aguero. As brilliant as he is, he can’t do it all on his own.
41 min: Jesus Navas just used his left foot to cross! I’ll be back in a minute, I’m just going outside to look out for flying pigs.
40 min: Nothing is happening now. But Olivier Giroud does have a very nice haircut.
37 min: Liverpool have gone 1-0 up against Watford, the lethal Joe Allen with the goal.
36 min: There’s a hypnotic quality to watching Navas repeatedly drive low crosses at defenders. “When I was at school, the last day of term was celebrated by allowing the pupils to bring in board games and cake, and, for the better-resourced, a cowboy hat or cardboard pirate cutlass for a bit of fun,” says Charles Antaki. “Good to see that Arsène is allowing his players to bring this ancient custom into modern Premiership football.”
33 min: City take the corner short, before working it back to De Bruyne, whose chipped cross towards the far post is headed over by Mangala. “Welbeck out?” says Christopher Faherty. “Defoe in! He’s looking very good for his age, in form, versatile, experienced, what’s not to like?”
32 min: Navas goes inside Monreal far too easily, sprinting into the area, and he’s halted by the sliding Ramsey, who concedes a corner on the right.
Updated
28 min: Arsenal are defending as though they’ll settle for nothing less than fourth place.
27 min: Fernando wins a challenge in City’s half and instantly looks to set Aguero away. He’s got the legs on Koscielny, who really isn’t playing well, and Cech is forced to come hurtling out of his area. His challenge isn’t too clever but it just about does enough to delay Aguero, who nonetheless emerges with the ball. He wriggles past Koscielny and eventually the move ends with Navas walloping a loose ball over under pressure.
Updated
25 min: Jack Wilshere replaces Welbeck.
24 min: If Welbeck’s injury is serious and England want to take five strikers to the Euros, who would be the lucky beneficiary? Activate Plan B. Activate Big Andy. It’s time to hit the big man.
22 min: It looks like Welbeck jarred his knee in an attempt to tackle Sagna. He comes back on in a bid to run it off but it’s long before he’s shaking his head and trotting down the tunnel. His afternoon, and possibly his season, is over.
21 min: Jack Wilshere is warming up. He appears to be getting a hot reception from the City fans.
20 min: Danny Welbeck has collapsed with an injury off the ball. Play is stopped so he can receive some treatment. This could be bad news for England.
Updated
19 min: Aguero has dropped very deep now. It’s almost as though he doesn’t trust his team-mates to provide the creativity.
16 min: Fernando drives past a couple of Arsenal statues from the left and his cutback eventually bobbles to Aguero, whose piledriver is surely destined for the net before it’s deflected over by Monreal. Arsenal’s defence is a shambles. They could probably do with trying to make a few tackles. That would be progress.
Updated
14 min: A lull. Which means that there hasn’t been a catastrophic mistake at the back for a good 30 seconds or so.
11 min: This is really fun. You score, we score. The defending at both ends is awful. City dust themselves down and almost retake the lead instantly, Aguero and De Bruyne both threatening inside the Arsenal area. Only last-ditch defending denies them.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Arsenal (Giroud, 10 min)
Olivier Giroud scores his first Premier League goal since 1872 and Arsenal are back in it immediately! What a response! The first time City had to defend, they were all at sea, with Gael Clichy’s back header from a nothing ball dribbling past Hart, hitting the bottom of the right post and going behind for a corner. They thought that they had escaped; they were wrong. From the resulting corner from Elneny, Giroud took advantage of woeful marking from Mangala to nut a header past the exposed Hart! This is fun.
Updated
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal (Aguero, 8 min)
Petr Cech’s still not made a save yet, but he has had to pick the ball out of his net. This is a superb goal from a superb player and it’s precisely what City deserve for their intense start. Fernandinho cleverly nodded the ball down for Sergio Aguero and the best finisher in England rattled a low drive with his left foot inside the left post from 18 yards! Cech had no chance. But...
Updated
7 min: This is total dominance from City, though Cech hasn’t had t make a save yet. Navas wins another corner, this time on the right, but Arsenal get it away. “FAO George Meikle from Andrew Ridgeley: Champions League Semi-Final, me old mate - stop smoking that dope!,” says Ewen Atkinson.
5 min: Arsenal are welcome to join in any time they like. They’ve not been out of their half yet. City attack again. Aguero bursts through midfield and powers past a feeble challenge from Koscielny, who has not started well at all. A deflection forces him wide but he’s in behind the Arsenal defence and flashes a dangerous cross across the face of goal. No City player can take advantage of it, but Arsenal could do with waking up.
3 min: An early corner for City on the left, Aguero winning it off Bellerin. But De Bruyne’s delivery is headed away at the near post.
2 min: City have started at a brisk pace here. Now I get why they didn’t bother doing any attacking against Real Madrid. They were saving themselves for the big one!
Updated
And we’re off! Arsenal, in their yellow away kit, get the ball rolling and immediately give it away. Laurent Koscielny presents it straight to Iheanacho and a sharper pass from the City youngster would have put Aguero clean through on goal. Arsenal survive. “OK, I give. Close Loss Spurs Fwacked?” says George Meikle. “Crazy Length Spurs Forego to win? Can’t Forget Spurs Losing again?”
The teams walk out. They’re greeted by some funky techno, which makes sense.
Arsene Wenger says that Mesut Ozil’s hip injury should only keep him out for a couple of days. He confirms that he wants to win the game.
Now then, where do Arsenal fans stand on Arsene Wenger the row over antisemitism in the Labour party who would win in a fight between Batman and Superman ethics in the gaming industry fluffy kittens?
Where do Manchester City fans stand on Manuel Pellegrini? He won the league in his first season, which is brilliant. But there was almost a feeling that they won the title only because Liverpool - and Chelsea - blew up. He also won a Capital One Cup in his first and third seasons. They’ve progressed in Europe under him; the quarter-final win over PSG this season was very impressive. But he has also overseen two miserable title challenges in the past two years, has blind spots over a few too many players, threw away the FA Cup this season and seems incapable of keeping his squad motivated throughout the season. On the other hand, he’s not necessarily been helped by some of City’s transfer business or by the questionable attitude of certain individuals. He’s not been a failure. But City could have been so much better. It’s almost as though it’s not a black and white issue! Crazy, I know.
“Arsenal need to win by 13 goals,” says Marie Meyer. “Having watched that CLSF, I wouldn’t rule it out.”
Good old Spurs. That was really Spursy, wasn’t it. Arsenal will go level with them if they beat City.
Updated
Manuel Pellegrini marks his final home game as Manchester City manager by handing Jesus Navas another start. But of course. Look out for some expert crosses from the right flank. There’s no Vincent Kompany, meanwhile, after his injury against Real Madrid ended his season, while Kelechi Iheanacho replaces Yaya Toure.
As for Arsenal, Mesut Ozil is out with a hip injury. In comes Danny Welbeck, the matchwinner against Norwich City last weekend, while neighbourly Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla are on the bench.
Updated
The teams
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Otamendi, Mangala, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho; Navas, De Bruyne, Iheanacho; Aguero. Subs: Caballero, Angelino, Demichelis, Delph, Toure, Sterling, Bony.
Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Elneny, Ramsey; Welbeck, Iwobi, Sanchez; Giroud. Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Coquelin, Wilshere, Cazorla, Campbell, Walcott.
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
Updated
The early team news is that Mesut Ozil is not in the Arsenal side. I’ll have the full line-ups in a minute.
Preamble
Hello. These two, eh? Two of the most talented squads in the league and, quite remarkably, neither of them are sure of qualifying for next season’s Champions League yet. Manchester City started the season like a runaway train, winning their first five matches, but they’ve been more like a broken down Central Line train at rush hour on a hot summer’s day.
After politely ushering themselves out of the Champions League in midweek, the Pep Guardiola era cannot soon enough. Big changes need to be made in the summer, in defence, midfield and attack and, above all, in City’s attitude. But the outcome of today’s match could go a long way towards deciding whether Guardiola takes over a Champions League side or a Europa League one.
Fourth-placed City are a point above Manchester United, whose game in hand takes them to West Ham on Tuesday night, so defeat here could be disastrous. And they’ve lost their last two against Arsenal, going down 2-1 at the Emirates in December and 2-0 at home last season.
Then again, Arsenal haven’t had much to shout about in recent months. Or to be more precise, they’ve not had many positive things to shout about in recent months. Their title challenge fizzled out in predictable fashion, discontent with Arsene Wenger is growing and there is a sense that we are reaching breaking point. As they are four points above United, a win here confirms their place in the top four, but their failure to keep up with Leicester City means that is impossible to view this season as anything other than unsatisfactory.
There’s disappointment everywhere you look. Enjoy!
Kick-off: 4pm BST.
