Mancini hands seal of approval to 10-man City

MANCHESTER CITY 0, ARSENAL 3
Roberto Mancini believes his Manchester City side proved in defeat that they are serious Barclays Premier League title contenders.

City were punished for the early sending–off of Dedryck Boyata as Arsenal ran out 3–0 winners at Eastlands.

The result saw City drop two places to fourth in the table as both the Gunners and Manchester United overtook them on goal difference.

Yet City boss Mancini was happy with the performance of his side, who remain five points behind leaders Chelsea, after playing for 85 minutes with 10 men.

“They played like a strong team, they played well. We lost but the way (ahead) is long," he said.

City had started brightly as Carlos Tevez broke clear to create a chance for David Silva, but Lukasz Fabianski produced the first of several good saves to deny the Spaniard.

The game's defining moment came in the fifth minute when Boyata, as the last man, was shown the red card for bringing down Marouane Chamakh.

Arsenal capitalised to go ahead through Samir Nasri and it needed a brilliant Joe Hart penalty save from Cesc Fabregas, after Vincent Kompany needlessly felled the Gunners star, to keep City in contention.

Alex Song put the result beyond doubt when he pounced inside the box after 66 minutes and substitute Nicklas Bendtner added a third with a brilliant finish late on.