Man City 1 Arsenal 1

LAURENT KOSCIELNY'S late leveller left Manchester City rueing their missed chances at the Etihad Stadium. England ace Joleon Lescott punished poor Arsenal defending as he nodded City into a first-half lead. But the Gunners dominated after the break and finally got their reward when Koscielny equalised on 82 minutes. The French centre-back was only drafted into Arsenal's starting XI after an injury to Thomas Vermaelen. The result leaves the two sides level on nine points in the Premier League table - four behind leaders Chelsea. Sergio Aguero started for the first time since the opening weekend of the season after a knee injury. And he had the first real chance of the game in the 14th minute with a curling shot that was pushed away by Vito Mannone. But it was Arsenal who were looking the more dangerous, cutting through City's midfield. Gervinho should have put them ahead but his awful first touch as he ran on to Aaron Ramsey's through ball let him down. The Ivorian wasn't having the best of matches. He also fired just wide with a shot that rippled the side-netting. Still, Arsenal they had not really tested Joe Hart. And they were made to pay in the 40th minute when Lescott headed in David Silva's corner. Vito Mannone and his defenders, who were zonal marking, certainly did not cover himself in glory. City could even have been two ahead at the break but Mannone saves Edin Dzeko's curling shot. City boss Roberto Mancini addressed his midfield issues by bringing on Jack Rodwell for Scott Sinclair. Immediately there was more dynamism about the home side. Aguero fired over at the back post and was then screaming for a penalty when he thought he had been tripped by Koscielny. Arsenal were still passing the ball around neatly without really looking like scoring. Gervinho's radar was off target again as he blasted high and wide in the 66th minute. Dzeko was then replaced by Carlos Tevez while Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud came on for Lukas Podolski and Abou Diaby. Arsenal were pressing hard but City almost killed the game off on the break in the 80th minute. Yaya Toure played in Aguero for a shot that was smartly stopped by Mannone. That proved to be a crucial moment as Arsenal went up the other end and Santi Cazorla drew the first real save out of Hart. The Spaniard took the resulting corner and Lescott could only divert the ball to the feet of Koscielny, who smashed home. It was no more than Arsenal deserved but they had Mannone to thank for keeping them level. He then saved Vincent Kompany's acrobatic overhead kick before Aguero shot inches wide. The Gunners had the final chance but again Gervinho's finish did not match his approach play, the Ivorian firing well over from 15 yards out.