Jesus Navas consistently disappoints in the final third. He beats the offside trap and races through on goal. Lacking the confidence to shoot himself, he tries to check inside and pull the ball back to a runner from midfield only to see his pass intercepted by a defender. Poor.

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

"Arsenal look in the mood to see this out now and there is real belief among Arsenal's fans. 

"When Manchester City have threatened, and it has been only occasionally in this second half, goalkeeper Petr Cech has been a figure of command and security. What a signing he has proved to be."

Image source, Reuters

Luke Reddy
BBC Sport in the Match of the Day edit suite

Martin Keown said shortly after half time that Arsene Wenger would introduce Kieran Gibbs as a left midfielder in a defensive move.

"I think he even makes that change to send a message to his team - stay compact," says Keown.

Mesut Ozil is afforded a magnificent standing ovation when he is substituted and replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Options.

Image source, Reuters

Luke Reddy
BBC Sport in the Match of the Day edit suite

Image source, Opta

"Look at Arsenal, good shape, they are saying 'come and beat us'", says Phil Neville in the Match of the Day edit suite.

Martin Keown adds he likes Mathieu Flamini's role in front of the back four tonight - "he's disciplined", says Keown. "There's a nice balance in there too, Aaron Ramsey is in the middle and complements it well."

A look at the average positions of the sides tonight shows Arsenal are generally more compact. There's no doubt they've been well drilled to deal with City possession.

Neville and Keown will be on MOTD2 at 22:40 GMT, 23:40 GMT in Scotland.

Manchester City make their final change - Jesus Navas replacing David Silva. Moments later, Wilfried Bony's header is easily caught by Petr Cech.

Image source, Reuters

Raheem Sterling almost looks like he's trying too hard. The nonchalance which marked him out as being so special is not there. Instead, he looks panicked whenever he has the ball.

You know how young kids will go onanyride at a theme park? That was Sterling when he broke through with Liverpool.

Then you get the fear of whatmighthappen. That's happening now.

Image source, AFP

Image source, Getty

Mike, London "Am I the only one with an irrational hatred of those giant Arsenal flags behind the goals? As bad as clubs who blast music after scoring..."     

Danny Mills
Former Man City defender, Final Score

Manchester City's back four is having a nightmare before Christmas. This time Aaron Ramsey picks up the ball on the edge of the area, drops the shoulder and then fashions a chance to shoot but blazes well over.

Joe Hart makes another good save, this time sticking out a leg to deny Joel Campbell who had got the run on Aleksandar Kolarov. If only Campbell could finish...

Image source, Reuters

Luke Reddy
BBC Sport in the Match of the Day edit suite

There is a lot of chat here in the Match of the Day 2 edit suite on Manchester City's back four. One theory is that the nationalities in the defensive line are not fully comfortable communicating with one another.

We have two screens on the go, one showing live play, the other showing clips from different angles. The latter screen has flagged up a few occasions where the away side's back four is, let's just say, adopting a novel approach to maintaining a line.

Martin Keown says these kind of things can only be dealt with "on the training ground and with repetition".

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

"Manchester City have predictably stepped up the pace here but there have already been signs in this second half that Arsenal have the capability to punish them and they are creating the chances to put this game away. 

"Aaron Ramsey should have made it three - but this game is wide open now."

Image source, Reuters

Sergio Aguero's indifferent performance comes to an end and the Argentine is replaced by Wilfried Bony.

Image source, Getty Images

Danny Mills
Former Man City defender, BBC 5 live

Manchester City look punch drunk now. They are being battered by Arsenal, who might yet live to regret all these missed chances. This time Aaron Ramsey's close-range shot is saved by the face of Joe Hart.