Joe Hart – 9 Although he hardly had anything to do in the first half of the game, the England number one was called into action in the second half when the Gunners kept posing some serious questions. Made some fantastic saves and got lucky on a couple of occasions as well when he spilled the ball, but it rolled out of play on Gervinho’s low shot in the second half.
Micah Richards – 7 The full back did not have a moment’s peace with Gervinho, Aaron Ramsey, and Thomas Vermaelen bombing down the flanks on a number of occasions. His heart would have skipped a beat when the ball landed on his hand in the box during the second half.
Kolo Toure – 7.5 Had a fantastic game against his old club. Put his body on the line on a number of occasions and looked very good at the back.
Vincent Kompany – 8.5 One has to be at his best in defence to keep out the best in attack and that is just what Vincent Kompany did for Manchester City against Robin Van Persie and Arsenal. Man marking par excellence was the name of his game on the night.
Pablo Zabaleta – 8 The Argentine had a simply brilliant game at left back in the absence of Gael Clichy and Aleksander Kolarov. Theo Walcott was barely allowed in the game and he had an absolutely stunning shot on goal that went out off the post.
Gareth Barry – 7.5 The England international showed marked improvement in his game from last week as he broke up the play on many occasions and provided inch perfect distribution of the ball all night.
Yaya Toure – 8 His physicality in the middle of the park was a major advantage for City on the night and he used it well to keep the ball and win it on several occasions. Kept things simple otherwise and we would have liked to see him drive into the opponent’s half on a few more occasions than he did on the night.
Samir Nasri – 7 Although he was booed on by the Arsenal supporters all night, the Frenchman showed a lot of heart as he worked tirelessly for City. Showed glimpses of his former self and still needs a couple of games under his belt to be back to his best.
David Silva – 8 Showed a lot of intelligence in the middle of the park on the night for City. Made some brilliant passes and turned up at the right place at the right time to poke in the match winning goal for the Citizens.
Mario Balotelli – 8 A focused performance from the Italian striker who kept his mental side aside and turned in a professional display for City. Showed no emotion on being substituted either, which is some marked improvement on his side.
Sergio Aguero – 4 Wasteful – that sums up his performance on the night.
Substitutes
James Milner (73rd) – 7 Was brought on to stifle the midfield to protect City’s lead and did just that.
Nigel De Jong and Edin Dzeko (86th) – Not Available