Player ratings: Manchester City v Arsenal

Hart – Great penalty save and showed good judgement throughout. Little chance with the goals though he was furious with himself after the third. Without a big man in attack to lump the ball at, Joe’s distribution is improving. 7

Richards – Showed terrific commitment to the cause, both in defending and getting forward. Just a shame the end product wasn’t always there. Justified his selection with new found focus in his defending. 7

Boyata – No doubt this will be a valuable lesson for Dedryck. Had it been four minutes from the end, there’s a case for taking the red card and preventing a goal. Four minutes from the start is a different story. An experienced defender wouldn’t do it. Needed to show faith in the goalkeeper or remember we’d still have 86 minutes to find an equaliser. 3

Kompany – Another poorly judged tackle cost us a penalty. It was the kind of rash challenge that Vincent had looked to have eradicated from his game. Otherwise he was excellent in a backs to the wall performance. 6

Boateng – Produced his best performance defensively at centre-back. Still a little casual and needed to be stronger when Chamakh pushed him off the ball on the goal-line. 6

de Jong – Immense before he ran out of the steam. Snapping into tackles, playing neat balls and even offering a few deft touches. More than matched the Arsenal midfield despite being outnumbered. 8

Barry (Balotelli 73) – Did well alongside de Jong, less well at left back, where his lack of pace on the turn was unsurprisingly exploited for the opening goal. Please let’s not see him played there. 6

Y Toure (Bridge h-t) – Looked to be doing ok, with his strength and control keeping the Arsenal midfield in check. It was noticeable how we were less effective following his departure. 7

Milner – His industry was essential in the midfield battle. Still not showing enough quality with the ball. 6

Silva – Carried on his excellent form from the last two matches. Provided excellent support to Tevez and retained possession despite a few hacks. Had he scored in the opening couple of minutes the game could have been very different. 7

Tevez (Adebayor 52) – Gave his all from the off, when sending over a great cross for Silva. Fashioned himself the odd chance and constantly provided a threat until forced off with injury. 7

Subs:

Bridge – Arrived to late to prevent the opening goal and inadvertently had a hand in the second. It was still good to see the arrival of a natural left-back and he sought to augment the attack whenever possible. 7

Adebayor – Came on, worked hard and had a chance with a header. As time wore on Ade suffered from a lack of support when Silva tired. 6

Balotelli – Not the circumstances in which he would have wanted to make his debut. Showed a few nice touches, but was crowded out as the players behind him tired. Mario will need to be eased into the Premier League and Mancini had nothing to lose in giving him his first taste. 6

Man of the match: Nigel de Jong.