Arsenal 2, Man City 0: Hughes suffers away-day blues

MANCHESTER CITY boss Mark Hughes suffered another frustrating afternoon at Arsenal as he saw his plans for what would have been only a second away league win hampered by injuries.

Key man Stephen Ireland was lost to an ankle problem in the run-up to the match, but has an outside chance of being available for the UEFA Cup tie with Hamburg this week.

And Wayne Bridge and Vincent Kompany both hobbled off during the first half.

“If we lose key personnel, it does not give us the presence on the field to be able to compete at the top, top table – but we will work on that,” said Hughes.

“Our home form is excellent, as good as anybody’s, but away from home we have not found the right mix to enable us to get results.”

“It is not a case of nailing individual players, it is more a case of highlighting what we have to do better, that was the tone of what I said in the dressing room.

“We have to prepare for a big game against Hamburg, so it is not a case of undermining players, it is a case of building them up.”

Arsenal extended an unbeaten Barclays Premier League run to 17 games with a comfortable 2–0 victory.