The boot to Alex Song’s knee that Mario Balotelli got away with before eventually getting sent off

Mario Balotelli did all he could to get sent off in Man City's doomed visit to the Emirates on Sunday. In the 19th minute, he was lucky not to snap Alex Song's leg with a boot to the knee (moving pictures here) that went unpunished because the referee's view was obscured.

In the 32nd minute, Balotelli missed Bacary Sagna with another high challenge, but finally got his first yellow of the day five minutes later for catching Sagna on the ankle with the tamest of his high kicks. Even more of a shocker than Mikel Arteta's 87th minute goal to give Arsenal a 1-0 win was the fact that Mario made it all the way to the 90th minute before being booked a second time for a tackle from behind on Sagna that got him sent off. It'll be yet another suspension for Mario as City are now all but finished in the title race, sinking to eight points being Man United with six matches left to play.

The good news for City is that this match revealed a foolproof way they can win the title next season. If they can just convince Man United to sign Balotelli (and maybe take Carlos Tevez back, along with everyone not named Vincent Kompany), the title will be theirs.