If the night wasn't harrowing enough already for Arsenal's players and fans, they had to deal with comparisons to struggling North London rivals Tottenham.
It what was billed as a defining night in the Premier League title race, Mikel Arteta's men arrived at The Etihad with a five point lead in the title race, albeit having played two more games more than Man City. But rather than make a resounding statement, the visitors were blown away by the champions as they went down to a 4-1 defeat.
And in truth, the margin of victory could have been more with City leading 2-0 at half time through Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones, and missing a host of further chances. De Bruyne made it 3-0 after the break, before Rob Holding's consolation strike was swiftly dismissed by Erling Haaland's 33rd league goal of the campaign.
