Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli ensured Arsenal gave their fans something to be excited over during a memorable, hard-fought battle with Manchester City.
City were eventual victors as a Riyad Mahrez penalty and a last gasp Rodri winner cancelled out Saka's opener.
Mikel Arteta was absent from the Emirates touchline, forced to relay his tactical insight via Carlos Cuesta who donned a pair of air-pods on the Arsenal bench, communicating with assistant Albert Stuivenberg throughout the game.
Things started brightly enough for the hosts, who set up in contrasting fashion to their disastrous trip to the Etihad in August.
Where that contest saw Arsenal try and press the league leaders, today's clash saw the Gunners adopt a strict shape that City found difficult to break down during the opening exchanges of the first half.
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The hosts slowly started to form some chances of their own, Martinelli seeing his effort saved by Ederson, who can consider himself fortunate to not have conceded a spot-kick after he tripped Martin Odegaard inside the penalty area.
The home faithful were in good spirits from the off, but the volume increased significantly after Saka put the Gunners in front just after the half hour mark.
Even Pep Guardiola would have to concede an Arsenal goal had been coming, the likes of Saka and Martinelli injecting the hosts with a level of pace not even City could deal with.
Saka and Martinelli seemed to mirror each other on opposite flanks, both displaying a relentless energy that City's star-studded back-line struggled to contain in the opening 45 minutes.
Morale around the Emirates is so high for that exact reason, Saka and Martinelli just two of a squad littered with young talent.
Whether it was Arteta via video-link or Stuivenberg leading the first half team-talk is unclear, but both would have surely informed the Arsenal squad City would undoubtedly improve for the second half.
That is exactly what they did, though their route back into the game was particularly fortuitous after Granit Xhaka fouled Bernando Silva inside the area, the incident originally waved away before VAR intervened and overturned.
Gabriel received his marching orders immediately after, two yellow cards in quick succession making Arsenal's already difficult task nigh on impossible.
Few Arsenal fans would have expected to come away from today's game disheartened they hadn't taken all three points, but frustration is far better than resignation in the red half of north London.
For far too long these kind of fixtures have been seen as 'free hits' for an Arsenal side too far off the pace from the rest of their big six rivals, but with the likes of Saki, Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe still in the side, the Gunners can finally start to hold their own.
