*Cesc ends Schmeichel fairytale*
A goal 10 minutes from time from Cesc Fabregas was enough to give
Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Manchester City at the Emirates
Stadium.
Fabregas scored with an angled drive to end City's winning start
under Sven Goran Eriksson and become the first player this season
to beat rookie goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
The 20-year-old Dane had kept his side in the game moments earlier
when he saved a penalty from Robin Van Persie after Micah Richards
had fouled Alexander Hleb.
And Schmeichel was almost an unlikely hero at the other end,
connecting with Martin Petrov's injury time corner and forcing a
save from Manuel Almunia in the Arsenal goal.
However, Schmeichel's sensational start to his Premier League
career came to an end, with Arsenal shading the match after making
a slow start.
It was particularly harsh on the imposing centre-back duo of
Richard Dunne and Richards, whose only mistake was the foul which
led to Arsenal's 68th minute penalty.
Penalty
claim
And at the other end, Eriksson and his bench were up on their feet
in the second half claiming a penalty when Kolo Toure flattened
Michael Johnson, but Chris Foy waved play on, allowing Arsenal to
take advantage.
The game developed into a matter of Arsenal enjoying possession,
with City looking to counter-attack and exploit Arsenal's makeshift
defence.
Most of the time they were faced with the solid partnership of
Richards and Dunne, so Van Persie tried his luck from long range
and cleared the crossbar.
City chances in the first half were more convincing. Johnson burst
through the Arsenal defence to set up Martin Petrov for an effort
that went wide.
Emile Mpenza, in for the injured Valeri Bojinov, had an even better
chance after Stephen Ireland sent him through but the striker made
poor contact on his effort.
Elano had the best of the first-half chances for City but he barely
tested Almunia with a shot from the edge of the area when he had
team-mates waiting for a pass.
The pressure from the home side built after the half-hour mark and
they almost took the lead in the 36th minute, but Van Persie was
inches away from Fabregas' cross.
Frustrated
Arsenal were frustrated further after the break, with Adebayor and
Tomas Rosicky denied, before City began to come back into the
game.
First Petrov flashed a shot wide of the far post after cutting in
from the left, but Toure collided with Johnson in the penalty area
but got the benefit of the doubt from referee Foy.
Then after 62 minutes Mpenza raced through onto Ireland's clever
flick but Almunia spread himself to deny the striker.
They were almost made to rue their misses when Richards brought
down Hleb in the area and the assistant referee instructed Foy to
point to the spot.
However, Schmeichel saved with his legs as Van Persie blasted down
the middle, and he denied the striker again two minutes later from
a long-range effort.
The City keeper then tipped Fabregas' powerful effort over the
bar.
But the Spaniard was not to be denied with 10 minutes
remaining.
The ball was fed to Hleb on the right before he slipped a pass
Fabregas who smashed into the roof of the net at the near post.
