There was an element of fortune about Arsenal’s first Premier League victory over Manchester City since 2015, as Gabriel Martinelli’s late winner took a huge deflection off Nathan Ake — wrong-footing Ederson and sending the Emirates into ecstasy.
Sunday’s win over the champions, though, was more about the result than the performance, and more about the potential psychology than early points on the board.
City have long had the beating of Arsenal, and Pep Guardiola of his former assistant Mikel Arteta, and the hosts came into this game on the back of 15 meetings without a win in this competition, including 12 straight defeats.
Finally breaking their City hoodoo, and doing so without Bukayo Saka, should flood Arteta’s young squad with belief and may prove to be significant in turning Arsenal from pretenders into winners.
Finishing above City is surely still a prerequisite for any club with designs on the title, and that aim would have felt even more attainable as Arsenal’s players danced in the dressing room after the final whistle.
“You could sense it’s been so many years without beating them,” said Arteta. “We beat the best team in the world, without a doubt.
“Certainly, it sends a message to the team to keep believing in what they’re doing, because they’re a fantastic group of players.
“They were all dancing and super happy. They go into the international break and the mood is much better. I’m really happy.”
Arsenal also celebrated wildly when they beat City in the Community Shield back in August, earning ridicule in some quarters, but Guardiola treats that game like a glorified friendly and it did little to move the dial in considering the clubs’ prospects.
Sunday’s victory, by contrast, has the potential to galvanise Arsenal, giving them belief that they can improve on last term’s second-place finish and helping to banish the painful memory of their collapse behind City.
It was a particularly significant afternoon for Arteta, who finally got one over his mentor and inspiration Guardiola, ending a run of seven straight League losses against the Catalan by changing the game with his use of the bench.
All four of Arteta’s substitutes were involved in the winner, with the returning Thomas Partey sending the ball towards Takehiro Tomiyasu, before Kai Havertz’s lay-off for Martinelli — underlining the sense that Arsenal have more depth and variety than they did last season.
It is too early to start doubting City but, at least temporarily, Guardiola’s side have lost their air of invincibility
“The subs were excellent,” said Arteta, who resisted condemning the officials after Mateo Kovacic escaped a red card for lunges on Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice. “They got involved in the goal but they brought so much to the team.”
It was a measure of Arsenal’s compactness and resilience that in a dour but nonetheless compelling contest, City were restricted to just four shots, the lowest for a Guardiola side in a top-flight match since 2010.
Last season, the Gunners were typically exhilarating, but fragments of their historic soft centre remained.
Earning big results without playing well is not always a bellwether for positive things to come, but this iteration of Arsenal appears more capable of grinding out victories when it matters. Perhaps this will be the way of things for Arsenal going forward: less exciting but more steely, and ultimately harder to beat.
Pipping City to the summer signing of Rice has been a significant part of this development and he was magnificent in the middle of the park, screening the defence alongside Jorginho and cutting off the supply to Erling Haaland.
How City could have done with Rice, as their own over-reliance on Rodri — and to a lesser extent Kevin De Bruyne — was exposed again. For a third game running without the Spaniard in the XI, City were beaten.
It is too early to start doubting City — they usually hit their stride in the second half of the season — but, at least temporarily, Guardiola’s side have lost their air of invincibility.
Arsenal, by contrast, have gained belief, momentum and three points that could all prove crucial in another season-long battle with the Manchester club.
