Three goals conceded after 43 minutes and a red card to provide the hammer blow to Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side. It couldn’t have got much worse for the Gunners at Manchester City, as they were blown away by Pep Guardiola’s side who rarely got out of first gear.
It was a bright start for Arteta’s side with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka showing flashes of attacking intent in the opening stages, but in reality there was nothing for Arteta’s side to shout about during the game.
The only shouting from Arsenal could be heard on the sidelines as Arteta bellowed instructions at Kieran Tierney to pass onto his teammates, in particular Sead Kolasinac who had advanced too far forward at one stage in the first half.
Kolasinac’s inclusion at centre back for the second consecutive game is symptomatic of Arsenal under Arteta. He’s a player who has one year remaining on his contract and could still leave before the August 31 deadline, but he started ahead of Pablo Mari who struggled against a Romelu Lukaku-inspired Chelsea last week.
Grant Xhaka’s sending off provided the final nail in the coffin for Arsenal, with the Swiss midfielder shown his marching orders for a risky challenge on Joao Cancelo.
However, the reality at the Etihad was that Arsenal always faced a near-impossible task to come away from Manchester with a positive result.
"He's beyond a good manager," said Guardiola when asked about Arteta's job being under threat.
"We were sad when he left. Sometime people expect results immediately. The squad he played today - they had 6, 7 or 8 injured. Important players like Ben White, Thomas Partey.
"If they trust him they'll do a good job at Arsenal."
One shot and 19 per cent possession is a statistic emphasised by Arsenal’s passive, embarrassing performance - it is also their lowest shots and possession total in a Premier League game on record.
Arsenal fans carried on singing their new chant for Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka as City scored their fourth goal. On a day full of negatives, the away support was the only bright spark for the Gunners.
"We have to talk between us players. I think this is important because we are Arsenal," said captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the game.
"We need pride and we need to say the truth between eachother, be honest and raise the level."
At full time the Arsenal players made a point of staying behind to thank the away supporters for their efforts - as Arteta's job comes under even more pressure following the Gunners' third consecutive league defeat.
