Arsenal closed the gap to Leicester City at the top of the Premier League table to two points with a 2-1 victory over fellow title hopefuls Manchester City this evening.

Goals from Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud gave the Gunners a 2-0 advantage at half time, and they were able to hold on despite Yaya Toure pulling one back for City with eight minutes remaining.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out during a top-of-the-table tussle at the Emirates.

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ARSENAL

Goal

Petr Cech: Has to wait in order to break the clean sheet record having been reduced to a mere spectator role by Toure's goal. Was otherwise rarely troubled, though, and dealt with what did come his way comfortably. (6/10)

Defence

Hector Bellerin: Was given very little trouble by Delph, and also dealt with the different threat of Sterling in the second half. A livewire in both directions. (7/10)

Per Mertesacker: Another sturdy performance from the German, who kept City at arm's length until the final 10 minutes, and then helped to hold out against the constant pressure. (7/10)

Laurent Koscielny: Kept Aguero quiet during the Argentine's time on the field, which is no easy feat. Was also impressive playing the ball out from defence, with one such occasion contributing to the opening goal. (7/10)

Nacho Monreal: Caught out of position in the first half, but was let off by De Bruyne's miss. Always keen to get forward, but found things a little more difficult at the other end of the field. (6/10)

Midfield

Mathieu Flamini: Helped to limit the influence of Silva and gave his back four some very good protection as City struggled to create clear chances. (7/10)

Aaron Ramsey: Missed a couple of decent openings but was always there looking to make the late run into the box. Never shirked his defensive duties either. (7/10)

Joel Campbell: Strong and determined on the ball. Perhaps not as technically gifted as those around him, but doesn't look out of place in the Arsenal team, although he did miss a couple of very good chances. (6/10)

Mesut Ozil: Another pair of assists to take him up to 15 for the season - just five short of Thierry Henry's all-time record. Classy once again and picked up another man-of-the-match award. (8/10)

Theo Walcott: Opened the scoring with a beauty of a strike, burying the ball into the bottom corner. Posed a threat to the City defence throughout with his pace. (8/10)

Attack

Olivier Giroud: Yet another goal for the in-form striker, who now has six in his last four games. It was a crisp finish from the Frenchman, who made a nuisance of himself all game. (7/10)

Substitutes

Kieran Gibbs: Came on to offer more protection down the Arsenal left, but was powerless to resist wave after wave of City pressure. (6/10)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Replaced Ozil with just under 15 minutes remaining and, one through-ball to Ramsey aside, didn't make much of an impact. (6/10)

Calum Chambers: Introduced in the dying stages to provide extra cover for a defence under pressure, and helped Arsenal to see out the win. (6/10)

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MAN CITY

Goal

Joe Hart: May feel that he should have done better for Giroud's goal, but more than made amends with saves to deny Campbell and Ramsey. It would have been worse but for Hart's performance. (6/10)

Defence

Bacary Sagna: Allowed Walcott to cut inside for the opening goal, although the Arsenal man still had an awful lot to do. No major errors, but not exactly a happy return to his old stomping ground. (6/10)

Nicolas Otamendi: A mixture of good positioning and aggression that teetered on the edge of success and failure. (6/10)

Eliaquim Mangala: Another shaky performance, gifting Arsenal the ball inside his own half for what proved to be the winner and completely misjudging a bounce later in the game to almost send Walcott through. (5/10)

Aleksandar Kolarov: Did not make enough of an impact going forward considering how dangerous he can be and how much of the ball he saw. (6/10)

Midfield

Kevin De Bruyne: One of his side's brighter players on the night, but missed a glorious chance with the score still at 0-0. (6/10)

Yaya Toure: Can either look like a world-beater or as if he doesn't want to be playing, and showcased both sides of that tonight. Made little to no impact in the opening 80 minutes but then grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck and almost salvaged something for his side. His goal was something special. (7/10)

David Silva: A quiet night for City's main playmaker, who was outshone by Ozil. Eventually made way with more than 15 minutes remaining having failed to create anything of note. (5/10)

Fernandinho: Could not keep Ozil quiet, although he is not solely to blame in that respect. A no-frills performance in the middle of the park. (6/10)

Fabian Delph: Something of a surprise starter ahead of Sterling, and the experiment did not pay off. Subbed at half time after a nondescript opening 45 minutes. (5/10)

Attack

Sergio Aguero: Not yet at the races on his return from injury. The few touches he was allowed by Koscielny carried an edge of rustiness to them. (5/10)

Substitutes

Raheem Sterling: Came on at half time and offered more pace to the City attack without having much of an impact. (6/10)

Wilfried Bony: Replaced Aguero shortly after the hour mark and came close with a couple of efforts. City looked better with him as a target man. (6/10)

Jesus Navas: Turned down the chance to shoot when one on one with the keeper, but offered something different down the right and helped to keep the pressure on in the closing stages. (6/10)