Manchester City’s hopes of finishing in the top four of the English Premier League table and qualifying for the Champions League took a severe hit after being held by Arsenal at 2-2 at the Etihad Stadium.
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City is in fourth place – the final Champions League qualification berth – but will be overtaken by Manchester United, should its great rival beat West Ham on Tuesday.
At the end of a week in which City was eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals, the team is now at risk of failing to be in Europe’s elite competition. But there was a concern for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, and his England counterpart Roy Hodgson, in the shape of a first-half injury to Danny Welbeck.
But Giroud responded nearly instantly, taking advantage of some poor City marking to power Mohamed Elneny’s corner beyond Joe Hart and break his duck after former Arsenal defender Gael Clichy had conceded the set-piece by heading a cross narrowly wide of his own goal.
City pushed for the late victor to boost the Champions League hopes but the closest they came was a Wilfried Bony effort which rattled the crossbar. Arsenal were quickly deflated again, however, as an apparent knee injury to Welbeck saw the England forward walk straight off the pitch and down the tunnel, with Jack Wilshere coming on and Alex Iwobi moving wide. After warning shots from Jesus Navas and Fernandinho, City went ahead in the 51st minute.
Belgium playmaker Kevin De Bruyne regained City’s lead six minutes after the restart with a stunning solo goal before Alexis Sanchez scoring Arsenal’s second goal after linking up well with Giroud before sending Hart the wrong way.
Theo Walcott’s introduction as a substitute gave Arsenal more thrust going forward and City had started to tire by the time Sanchez equalized.
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The Chile forward linked up brilliantly with Giroud, who played Sanchez in to emphatically level matters with a confident finish. Pellegrini, who bows out at Swansea City next Sunday, covered his face with his hands in anguish.
