Arsenal and Manchester City go in level at the break in their crunch Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium.

City struggled during the opening 20 minutes and it was the home side who came close to breaching the deadlock after 16 minutes.

Mikel Arteta's corner found the head of Robin Van Persie, only for his header to be inadvertently cleared off the line by Thomas Vermaelen.

Mario Balotelli should have seen red after 20 minutes for a vicious challenge on Alex Song.

However, the referee did not see it and the offence went unpunished. Thankfully, Song was unscathed.

The Italian then had a shot blocked on the line six minutes later which would have added insult to injury.

Balotelli received a yellow for a challenge on Bacary Sagna towards the closing stages of the first half.