Gary Neville explores reasons behind Arsenal’s second-half performance against Man City

Raheem Sterling scored a superb individual goal to win the spoils for Manchester City as the Citizens overcame Arsenal 2-1 on Sunday.

Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola, has said his team will be ready to take advantage, if Premier League leaders Chelsea falter at any point this season.

Manchester City boss has clashed with the likes of Yaya Toure this season, and now revealed why he apologised to one of his stars on the weekend.

That made it 35 top flight matches at Eastlands where City hadn’t been beaten, a run that stretched back nearly two years to December 2010 – and one that would eventually be brought to an end by Manchester United, who won 3-2 at the Etihad in December 2012. But some of those familiar, debilitating issues reared their head once more at Everton in midweek.

The boss reflected: “The last three games we spent two and a half hours in training on second balls. It’s so disappointing to lose a game of that stature”.

Wenger told Sky Sports: “I feel we dropped physically in the second half”.

City host third-placed Arsenal on Sunday.

Manchester City are not at the top of the table, a situation that seems extraordinary given Guardiola’s dominance in the other leagues in which he has managed, but he stated that his table-topping adventures were the part that should be viewed as outside the norm.

However, former Arsenal midfielder Parlour is confident that the north London side have what it takes to get a positive result against Pep Guardiola’s men at The Etihad.

It was a win, though, that came at a significant cost.

Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero remain suspended for City, while Ilkay Gundogan is likely to miss the rest of the season after suffering anterior cruciate ligament damage against Watford.

“I try to play in one way all my career and here, for example with high pressing, when they have the ball we go to pick them up, it is not allowed, because it is not allowed”.

‘It (the defending leading to City’s second goal) was walking pace.

Shkodran Mustafi’s absence with a hamstring injury means Gabriel will continue to deputise alongside Laurent Koscielny at centre-back. Away from home, his record versus the Spaniard is W0 D1 L3, though only Chelsea (7) have won more Premier League games away at the Etihad than Arsenal (6).