Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has cited his side's lack of creativity as one of the reasons behind their loss to Arsenal in the Premier League.

Arsenal proved to be tactically better as a Santi Carzola penalty and a neat finish from Olivier Giroud secured victory for the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium, as the Sky Blues suffered a first defeat in 15 outings.

"I think there were two principle reasons [for the loss]. One of them was the penalty, the other was that we were not creative," said Pellegrini, according to The Independent.

"I don't think that was a penalty, it changed the game. Before the penalty, we had possession of the ball and we played very near their box.

"On the other side, we had a lot of time on the ball, but we were not a creative team. Without creative ideas, it is difficult to score goals.

"It was not the usual Arsenal. They played very concentrated and defended very well for 90 minutes."

The defeat now sees second-placed City sitting five points behind leaders Chelsea in the league standings.