London: Mario Balotelli was sent off for the second time this season as Manchester City's faint Premier League title hopes appeared to end with a 1-0 loss at Arsenal that could spell the end of the petulant striker's career at the club.
Arsene Wenger’s side hit the woodwork on several occasions, with Robin van Persie first denied by Thomas Vermaelen and the bar as his header seemed destined for the net. Van Persie hit the post in the second half again and was followed by Theo Walcott as it seemed the Gunners would never find the net.
But five minutes from time Arteta picked up the ball and lashed a sublime effort from 25 yards to beat Joe Hart all ends up and give the home side the win. City's woes were compounded when Mario Balotelli saw red for a second bookable offence late on.
Manager Roberto Mancini said he will now "probably" try to sell Balotelli at the end of the season. "He is losing his talent and his quality," Mancini said on Sunday after the defeat. "He is in a bad way for his future and he needs to change his behaviour."
Balotelli was dismissed in the 90th minute when he was booked again for a lunge on Bacary Sagna, three minutes after Mikel Arteta's curled in Arsenal's winner. Before receiving his fourth red card since joining City in 2010, a dangerous-looking knee-high tackle on Alex Song had gone unpunished after just 10 minutes.
"From the bench I didn't see the first tackle (on Song) but now I have seen it and Mario deserved a red card after 10 minutes," Mancini said. "But it took until the last few minutes for him to get sent off. I am very sorry for him. I don't have any words for his behaviour."
"I love him, he is a fantastic player, I love him as a guy but he needs to change or he can lose everything. I am disappointed in him."
The 21-year-old Balotelli is rarely out of the headlines for his conduct on and off the pitch. "He is young and he continues to make mistakes," Mancini said.
City had topped the table for most of the season but Manchester United have seized on their neighbour's collapse over the last month to surge eight points clear with six games remaining.
Even United's 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers earlier on Sunday provided no incentive for City's players to attempt to revive the free-flowing, attacking football that was their hallmark earlier in the season. Instead it was an indisciplined, sloppy display at the Emirates Stadium from a side that has been built with more than $1 billion of Abu Dhabi investment.
"Today we have 15 points more than last year, clearly it is difficult to win the title," Mancini said. "After that we will see. In the last month we have had problems with injuries but we need to improve more. For 28 or 29 games we did well but there are 18 points to play for. Never say never."
Arsenal made a strong start to the game and dominated possession, putting City under real pressure as the visitors struggled to get out of their own 18-yard box. The hosts peppered the area with crosses, and defenders Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott had to be at their best to alleviate the danger on Joe Hart’s goal.
Wenger’s side should have taken the lead from a corner when Van Persie rose highest and headed the ball towards goal. The Dutchman’s effort seemed destined for the net, only for it to be blocked on the line by teammate Vermaelen, resulting in the ball hitting the crossbar and bouncing clear, with Tomas Rosicky heading the rebound over.
Balotelli sparked controversy when he flew into a tackle with Alex Song with his studs showing and without winning the ball. He made contact with Song’ shin but was not punished by referee Martin Atkinson.
City, who had lost Micah Richards and Edin Dzeko and lost Yaya Toure to injury, looked to have weathered the early Arsenal pressure and should have gone ahead through Balotelli when he peeled off his marker at a corner and met the cross with a first-time effort, but he miscued.
The Gunners looked to pile on pressure late in the half, particularly down the right through Walcott and Bacary Sagna, but neither could produce a quality final ball to trouble the resolute Kompany and Lescott.
At the start of the second half, neither side was able to get any attacking momentum going due to mistakes being committed on and off the ball.
City, missing David Silva, had a great chance to take the lead when Gael Clichy raided down the left and hit a dangerous cross deep to the back post which Sergio Aguero looked poised to head past Wojciech Szczesny. However, just as the Argentine was about to make contact, Pablo Zabaleta collided with him, taking the power off the effort, and Szczesny was able to tip the looping header over the bar.
Arsenal responded to the pressure from Mancini’s side and should have gone ahead through Van Persie, whose header hit the post from six yards after he found himself free in the area and picked up Song’s lofted pinpoint pass.
Van Persie thought he had finally got his goal when latched onto another Song pass after drifting away from Kompany. He rounded the challenge of Zabaleta before firing a right-footed shot past Hart, only to be flagged offside.
The Gunners were beginning to pile on the pressure, particularly down the right where Balotelli was offering no defensive support to Clichy. This almost cost them a goal as Sagna found Walcott in the area, who fired an effort at goal, but his shot was tipped onto the post by Hart.
The rebound fell kindly for Vermaelen, who only had to tap the ball into an empty net, but he lost his footing and scuffed his shot. The ball then landed at the feet of Yossi Benayoun, who was also unable to turn the ball in and Lescott managed to clear.
But Arsenal's dominance paid off to consolidate third place as City all but surrendered the Premier League title to Manchester United. The victory marked the latest step in Arsenal's resurgence since overhauling Tottenham's 10-point lead in third to now sit two points clear of their north London rivals, who have dropped into the fourth Champions League spot.
"It's really important for us as there are a few teams putting pressure on us for a place in the Champions League," Arteta said. "We dropped points last week so this was a massive three points. It was a good goal against a good team who have spent a lot of money."
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