Manchester City handed Arsenal the initiative in the Premier League title race as they were pegged back in a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
A plethora of missed chances plagued the champions, who went ahead in the first half through Bernardo Silva, but Chris Wood scored a late leveller for the Tricky Trees to keep City behind Arsenal in the Premier League table.
It came as little surprise to see the champions dominating exchanges from the off and pinning Forest back, but clear-cut chances were few and far between in the first 20 minutes, as Erling Braut Haaland was starved of service again.
While City struggled to carve out any clear openings, Forest were content to ping the ball forward on the counter, which Danilo duly did to Brennan Johnson in the 25th minute, but the Welshman - who was up top on his own - could only drag his shot harmlessly out of play.
Kevin De Bruyne also sent a couple of efforts wide of the post as City's profligacy let them down, but just two minutes after sending a speculative effort wide, Silva drew first blood.
The Portugal international received the ball on the edge of the box from Jack Grealish with 41 minutes gone, and his first-time strike flew above Keylor Navas into the roof of the net; the Costa Rican goalkeeper had taken a slight step to his right and could not readjust himself in time to keep out Silva's central effort.
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Silva's strike was no more than City - albeit a wasteful City - deserved, and Forest goalkeeper Navas somehow kept the game at 1-0 with eight minutes gone in the second half, denying both Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias from close range.
Clearly uncomfortable with his side's 1-0 lead, Pep Guardiola picked up a yellow card after furiously protesting an unpunished Joe Worrall challenge on Haaland inside the area, and the latter was guilty of an uncharacteristic horror miss in the 67th minute.
After rattling the crossbar with a volley, the normally clinical Haaland ballooned the rebound over from six yards out, and Ilkay Gundogan was agonisingly close to doubling the Citizens' lead in the 73rd minute, but Navas was equal to his free kick.
In the end, Guardiola was right to be worried about his side's one-goal advantage, as in the 84th minute, Wood - who had only come on five minutes beforehand - just about kept himself onside to tap home from Morgan Gibbs-White's cross at the back post.
City could not force a late winner in the short time that remained and stay second in the table behind Arsenal, who are two points better off with a game in hand, and the champions now prepare for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against RB Leipzig on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Forest have jumped up one place to 13th after recording an eighth straight Premier League home game without defeat, and Steve Cooper's team now prepare to meet West Ham United next Saturday.
Ben Knapton
