Manchester City 1 Arsenal : Joey Barton blasted Manchester City out of their own misery and pitched Arsenal into despair at Eastlands.

No goals, bottom of the table, submerged in bad publicity following Ben Thatcher's disgraceful conduct and their neighbours from Old Trafford blazing a trail at the top.

As opening weeks go, things could hardly have been any worse for City and their supporters.

Yet the Blues emerged from the gloom to produce their most purposeful and effective performance since they tumbled out of last season's FA Cup to West Ham in March, with Barton - himself a man with plenty of previous - providing the finish, rattling home a 41st-minute penalty.

Barton could not quite be described as the hero. There were plenty of others who deserved the accolade as well, notably central defensive duo Richard Dunne and Sylvain Distin, plus goalkeeper Nicky Weaver, who twice brilliantly denied Thierry Henry with his legs.

City's collective defiance came at the expense of an Arsenal side who, if the Premiership must have a crisis club, are now it.

One point from two games, and already eight adrift of Manchester United, Arsene Wenger's men appear to be a pale shadow of the side which reached last season's Champions League final.

And, if Blackburn manage to avoid defeat against Chelsea tomorrow, the Gunners will spend the two-week international break sitting embarrassingly in the Premiership relegation zone.

Given the publicity surrounding Thatcher and the fact City were entertaining a side they had not beaten in 15 years, as backdrops go, it was about as bleak as the darkest, dullest, wet and miserable Manchester day.

Yet, summoning up all the tenacity and battling spirit for which manager Stuart Pearce is famed, they took the fight to their illustrious opponents without ever crossing the line of acceptability Thatcher so clearly transgressed on Wednesday.

True, Weaver did make two excellent feet-first saves to deny Henry, who also blasted a shot against the post and Kolo Toure's injury-time header did bounce off the top of City's crossbar, but it would be hard to deny the hosts their interval lead.

Barton was his usual all-action self in midfield, while Dunne and Distin stood firm as Henry threatened mayhem.

Crucially, it appeared Pearce had also identified a glaring weakness in Arsenal's defence.

In setting his side up for a rugby union-style kick-off and then berating Weaver for launching a long ball to the Arsenal right in the opening minutes, Pearce clearly felt the inexperience of Gunners left-back Justin Hoyte offered an avenue of opportunity.

By the time Hoyte conceded the fateful penalty, his lack of positional nous had already been exposed once by a high, crossfield pass.

On that occasion, Sinclair slipped past him and fed Barton, whose precise strike rolled inches wide.

Fearing the worst when Sinclair seized possession in similar circumstances but inside the area four minutes before the break, Hoyte simply hauled the former England international back.

Barton, once again a City hero after resolving his much-publicised contract dispute, kept his nerve from the spot, even if his shot did cannon in off the underside of the bar.

The Blues would have been in front before that anyway had Bernardo Corradi's downward header had the power to prevent Jens Lehmann getting across to make a low save.

Given the ever-decreasing margin for error in completing successful title quests, Arsenal could hardly afford to lose any more ground, even at this ridiculously early stage of the season.

It was fairly obvious the Gunners' attacking momentum should increase throughout the second period, yet Henry's best efforts produced no reward as Dunne and Distin continued their heroics.

Behind them, Weaver remained calm and kept his concentration, although even he was forced to breathe a sigh of relief when Robin van Persie's angled effort flew past both him and his left-hand post.

In the end, with new signing Tomas Rosicky showing none of the verve which made him one of the most eye-catching players at the World Cup, Wenger called on Theo Walcott.

But the teenager could not conjure up any magic and Wenger badly needs to find some inspiration before the transfer window shuts next week.