The league table prior to kick off at the ground the council of Manchester built was ominous. Sixth. With the lesser likes of West Brom and Spurs above us, it was crucial to stand up to the physical challenge presented by our latest cash created rivals.

A worrying start. Djourou was out muscled down the right by Tevez, who crossed for Silva to flick towards goal. Fabianksi saved well. We struggled in possession, carelessly giving the ball away on too many occasions. The first two balls of quality came via Cesc. Arshavin was harshly flagged offside from the first. From the second, Chamakh drew the foul by Boyata. Ten men.

Key point; Manchester City were down to ten men because their player denied our player a goalscoring opportunity. Cesc's pass and Chamakh's run caused panic, and ultimately the right to play against ten. City still came at us, principally due to the widely held view of this Arsenal side that 'they can be got at'. We got at them first and took our advantage.

The again outstanding Nasri posed with the ball at the edge of the box, before playing a neat one-two with Arshavin, and finishing high into the roof if the net. It was the first foot the Russian had put right, and it led to yet another assist. His all round game is generally poor of late, but his assists continue to stack up. Does one make up for the other?

At Stamford Bridge we played well in the first half, but came in a goal down. We hadn't played as well here, but should have come in two goals to the good, with Cesc missing a penalty I feared would be a costly. Half time. With a quartet of Arsenal players on a booking, the crucial question was what would come first; a second yellow card for those who'd already collected their first, or a second Arsenal goal. An improved second half display, full of maturity and discipline, meant Mark Clattenberg was never given the opportunity to even the red card tally.

We looked far more assured and might have put the game to bed earlier were it not for our fondness of overplaying things whilst Gooners scream 'shoot' in unison. Manchester ten men City still had only ten men, and yet almost equalised as Silva again brought a fine save from the fantastic Fabianksi. F*** me, read that again.

Our favourite son of Togo then fluffed his lines by heading over as Fabianksi distracted him by failing to punch the ball clear. Previously this would have been known as 'flapping', but not today, and hopefully not anymore. Early in the game I was again screaming at Alex Song (gloved already) to get back. He's a holding midfielder, and a good one. In my opinion his form has suffered of late by pushing on too much and trying to be what he is not. On 66 minutes the freescoring, galavanting gloved midfielder pounced on a Wayne Bridge error and punted it into the top corner to all but settle the game. His second in a week. Keep ball time. Confidence oozed and City's legs caved. As did their 'fantastic', 'loyal' supporters, who departed early under a blue moon.

The bench is looking stronger. Bendtner and Walcott came on with the game all but done, but there was still time for the Dane to latch onto a through ball from Nasri and announce his return with a well taken third. I'd have forgiven him for sliding on his knees in front of the away boys like his mate Adebayor did.

Last season Ryan Giggs had basically won the player of the year by this early stage, following an impressive start and some nostalgic eyes. Sami Nasri has been better. Fabianski continues to earn our trust. In addition to two fine saves, there was a moment in the first half which confirmed his growing confidence. He rose high and claimed a cross under pressure, looking strong as he feel hands first to the ground, still clutching the ball between them. Whisper it, but he might be about to prove Arsene right once more, as Almunia's departure is surely scheduled for January.

Three valuable points. From sixth to second and the league table looking a lot better come the final whistle than it did at the first. If it had been Chelsea, it would have been described as ruthless, whilst the earned right of playing against ten men is insignificant to the gifted advantage of being able to buy whoever you like in the process of posting a yearly loss of £130 million.

*You can follow more of my Arsenal ramblings on Twitter @TheArsenal_