Arsenal 2 Birmingham 1

Two goals in the space of seven minutes condemned Birmingham to defeat against Arsenal.

Blues had taken the lead through Nikola Zigic's well-placed header 32 minutes in.

But a controversial 40th minute Samir Nasri penalty and a well-taken Marouane Chamakh strike two minutes into the second-half turned the result on its head.

Arsenal dominated possession in the first-half and forced two early saves from goalkeeper Ben Foster, as Abou Diaby and Chamakh got forward.

Roger Johnson and Stephen Carr were also forced into early blocks from Diaby and Chamakh, as Arsenal dominated the early stages.

Andrei Arshavin also tested Foster's reflexes with 18 minutes gone from Diaby's pass and Gael Clichy missed a great chance for the Gunners six minutes later, when Sebastian Larsson gave the ball away inside the Blues box.

Clichy should have smashed the loose ball home, but slotted it just wide of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski's left-hand post from close range.

But Blues were starting to get a foothold in the game as the half wore on and began to cause problems from set pieces.

Emmanuel Eboue forced Fabianski into a smart save after he accidentally flicked on Larsson's free-kick towards his own goal.

And the visitors took a shock lead 13 minutes before half time when Zigic headed home from Keith Fahey's cross, his first league goal in Blues colours.

But Arsenal struck back in controversial fashion, when Scott Dann was adjudged to have fouled Chamakh in the area.

Dann had gone to ground in an earlier challenge, but Chamakh appeared to go down rather easily with minimal contact from the defender's outstretched leg.

Nasri slotted the penalty coolly past Foster to level the game five minutes before half time.

The goalscorer was then booked for a petulant swipe at Ridgewell, who was on the floor, three minutes in the last meaningful action of the half.

Arsenal burst out of the traps in the second-half and Chamakh gave them a 2-1 lead within two minutes of the restart, slotting into the left hand corner from Wiltshire's pass.

It was a bitter blow for Blues after a solid first-half showing, then having to spend long periods of the second-half chasing shadows as Arsenal passed the ball with aplomb.

Lee Bowyer was booked for a poor challenge on Diarby as frustration set in and Jack Wilshere smashed a decent chance wide of goal with 62 minutes gone.

Carr became the third booking of the day after dragging down Tomas Rosicky, who had replaced Arshavin on 70 minutes, on the edge of the box but the free-kick was blocked by the defensive wall.

Eboue was also shown the yellow card with 14 minutes left for a wild lunge on Ridgewell, as the game became scrappy.

Blues swapped Fahey for David Murphy and Bowyer for Garry O'Connor in the final quarter of the game as they pushed to try to earn a point.

But it was Arsenal who came closest to scoring, when Rosicky forced a superb save from Foster with a thumping 20 yard drive.

O'Connor scuffed a shot wide with six minutes left and Wilshere ensured a controversial end to the game with a wild lunge on Zigic, which earned him a straight red card.

But the home side held on for the remaining minutes and Blues had to stomach a second straight defeat in the league.