As Arsenal prepare for Sunday's Community Shield against Manchester City, it will not be lost on Mikel Arteta that his side are effectively making up the numbers.
Arsenal will be at Wembley this weekend courtesy of finishing runners-up to City, who won both the Premier League and FA Cup as part of last season's historic Treble, overhauling the Gunners in the title race and eliminating them in the fourth round.
"The reason Arsenal are there is because they did so well last season," said City manager Pep Guardiola. "They pushed us so hard."
The game is therefore a reminder for Arteta, as if one was needed, of who they must beat if they are to go one better this season.
City were, quite simply, the reason Arsenal failed to win the title last term, outclassing the Gunners home and away and eventually finishing five points clear at the summit.
Unlike his old nemesis Jose Mourinho, who counted the Community Shield as part of a 'treble' with Manchester United, Guardiola sets little store by the match, which his City side have lost on the eve of the previous two campaigns.
Talk of Arsenal laying down a marker this weekend therefore feels flimsy, but the contest is nonetheless a chance to test themselves against the champions and perhaps gain the most fractional of psychological edges before their first League meeting at the Emirates in early October.
Arsenal will struggle to overhaul City this season if they do not fare better in their head-to-head meetings, and Arteta will be aware that he has lost eight of nine meetings with his former mentor, Guardiola, and view Sunday as a chance to start redressing the balance.
The Spaniard is under no illusions about what it will take to be the champions this term and believes City have raised the bar to such an extent that Arsenal may need 100 points to win the title.
"Of course, we know what we are up against," Arteta said ahead of Sunday's game, which is back at the national stadium after being held at Leicester's King Power Stadium last term. "We have full respect for City and their achievements last season.
"For me, they have raised the level, along with Liverpool, over the last six years to somewhere that the League has never experienced. And they've done it in a context where the overall level of the League is much higher than in the last 20 years, that's for sure.
"So we know that to win the Premier League, we are probably going to need about 96 points or 100 points."
Only one team, City in 2017-18, have ever reached triple figures for points and Arsenal, who finished with 84 last season, have never managed more than 90.
Arsenal were overpowered by City in both League meetings last season, notably in the 4-1 defeat at the Etihad, which gave them the advantage in the title race.
Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland cut through Arsenal's flimsy midfield that day, and Arteta will hope that the addition of Declan Rice in a £105m deal will add physicality and control to the middle of the park.
Despite losing influential midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, City were quick to replace him with Mateo Kovacic and are on the verge of signing RB Leipzig centre-half Josko Gvardiol in a £77million deal, meaning their squad will still have comfortably more depth than any of their rivals.
Arsenal, though, are gradually catching up, and Rice has been joined in the squad by Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, while Arteta's determination to have two players competing for every position is demonstrated by their pursuit of Brentford goalkeeper David Raya.
Winning on Sunday may count for little when the competitive action begins but Arteta will still view it as an opportunity for his side to underline further progress.
"The Community Shield is a trophy, and when there is a trophy on
the table, you want to win," said Arteta. "This will be our approach against a very good Manchester City team."
