Arsenal lost Laurent Koscielny to injury at half-time and it was his central defensive partner Shkodran Mustafi who rose above City's defence from a corner to restore parity after 53 minutes. Aguero missed two good chances for City and manager Pep Guardiola was furious that a late handball appeal against Nacho Monreal was ignored, leaving his side in fourth and Arsenal in sixth place in the table - seven points of the top-four pace. Two banners were held aloft at the final whistle - and both summed up the confusion currently surrounding Arsenal and manager Wenger. One read "Forever In Your Debt - One Arsene Wenger" and the other carried the slogan "All Good Things Must Come To An End."
There were renewed protests from a noisy, but relatively small, group of Arsenal fans before kick-off to illustrate the pressure on Arsenal's manager but there were precious few signs of discontent inside the stadium. The smart money remains on Wenger extending a stay as manager that stretches back to October 1996 - but this result and performance did little either way to clear the muddied waters around this part of north London. Wenger insists his decision is made while Arsenal's board say the next move will be mutual - so a draw almost summed up what seems to be the current inertia among the decision-makers. If Arsenal had won, it would certainly have made any announcement more palatable, while a loss would have made it a harder sell. As it is, a draw means the uncertainty goes on.
Arsenal needed to show signs of fight and resilience after a desperate sequence of four defeats in their previous five Premier League games - and they certainly showed that, if not huge quality. The Gunners twice fought back from behind in a performance that was centred on determination rather than the dazzling football of old, but Wenger can at least take some comfort from that small mercy. Arsenal's wafer-thin confidence was exposed by the manner in which they defended for both City goals, opened up too easily by De Bruyne's routine pass for Sane's opener and losing concentration and shape far too easily to concede a second to Aguero two minutes after Walcott's equaliser.
They still display very obvious defensive faults and the Achilles injury to Koscielny, the most reliable member of their rearguard, could prove to be a significant setback in the run-in. This is a frail Arsenal side, reduced in self-belief by that recent poor run, but avoiding defeat here may just build some momentum as they chase a place in the Premier League's top four. City may have been offered just the slightest hope of a route back into the title race by Chelsea's surprise loss at home to Crystal Palace - and a win here against Arsenal would have further cemented their place in the top four. So a draw represents a real missed opportunity for Guardiola and his players, who failed to take advantage of the perfect start given to them by Sane's goal. City cut Arsenal apart in the opening phases, when De Bruyne hit the post and Ospina saved well from David Silva.
Guardiola's side play some scintillating attacking football but must discover a ruthless streak, with even the world-class Aguero missing inviting headed chances either side of Mustafi's equaliser. City, without question, are fashioning an exciting attacking side with Sane, Aguero, Raheem Sterling, De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus to come back, but this was another example of them being a work in progress.
