Manchester City have missed out on the opportunity to top the Premier League table after being held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
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Chelsea's 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace paved the way for City to climb to the summit, but they failed to overcome the Gunners in London.
The hosts had a shout for a penalty turned down after 11 minutes, with referee Mike Dean waving away appeals when Tomas Rosicky went down in the box under a challenge from Pablo Zabaleta.
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City took the lead shortly after through David Silva, who was quickest to react when Edin Dzeko's strike came back off the post, tapping in from close range to make it 1-0.
Samir Nasri came close to doubling his side's lead on the half-hour mark when he stole the ball on the edge of the box, but his effort was well saved by Wojciech Sczcesny.
Arsenal made the perfect start to the second half courtesy of Mathieu Flamini, who converted Lucas Podolski's cross from the left to bring the Gunners level with 53 minutes on the clock.
Arsene Wenger's side almost completed the turnaround less than 10 minutes later through Podolski, with the German being slipped in by Santi Cazorla, but his shot was deflected wide by Joe Hart.
Despite having the better of the second-half chances, Arsenal nearly fell behind once more when Yaya Toure rounded Sczcesny, but he failed to pick out a teammate inside the box, instead opting to find the target himself with a shot that the Polish keeper did well to keep out.
Both sides looked to find a winner late on, but the game petered out and finished in a 1-1 draw.
Daniel Lewis
