For Arsenal, it felt as if all hope had left the stadium. Mikel Arteta had started with the dial turned towards caution but, by the time the board went up to show seven minutes of stoppage time, the manager had torn off the handbrake, sending on attacking substitutes, praying that one of his finishers could come up trumps.
It was attack versus defence, as it had been throughout, but now it was a ridiculously extreme version. Pep Guardiola had everybody back, his Manchester City team set up in a 5-4-1 formation, desperately holding on to the advantage given to them by Erling Haaland in the ninth minute.
