This had been billed as a stern test of Manchester City's resolve, a daunting occasion at a club where they had not won a league game since the mid-1970s to be played out with Manchester United's lead at the top of the table stretched into double figures. In the end, with the contest warped from virtually its opening exchange, a victory that might normally have impressed as a statement of intent actually felt little more than a formality.
Arsenal were effectively beaten at a saunter, City's few pangs of anxiety reserved for the last quarter-hour after Vincent Kompany had been sent off by Mike Dean and the numbers evened up. By then City had been playing for 65 minutes against depleted opponents with a lead long established and only sporadically threatened. Hints of sloppiness crept in as the game dragged on, Arsenal's refusal to be overrun admirable, but this was never the thunderous examination of the champions' credentials it might have been. Not that Roberto Mancini would care one jot.
The City manager could depart relieved that United have not disappeared from view, and content his own charges mustered a response to their rivals' victory at Old Trafford earlier in the day. He could be heartened, too, by early efficiency, City's upbeat tone established in the first few skirmishes and their authority imposed just beyond the half-hour.
Arsène Wenger acknowledged as much, pointing to his own team being "timid" and unable to impose their "personality" on the game from the outset, a judgment he might have made in the first nine minutes when they boasted a full complement. Thereafter they tumbled out of contention with the locals directing their ire at the referee for all that their team's wounds, not for the first time, were actually self-inflicted.
How else could Laurent Koscielny's panicked response at finding himself the wrong side of Edin Dzeko in the six-yard box from Gareth Barry's looped header be explained? The Frenchman had summoned something akin to a rugby tackle on the Bosnian as he prepared to connect with the loose ball, wrapping both arms round the striker's midriff and dropping him to the turf. "I was surprised," Wenger said. "But I refuse to watch it again because how would that help now?"
Reviewing the incident might prove educational for Koscielny. Shirt-pulling may not always be punished in the modern game but this grapple was spotted by Dean, the only argument over whether the offence should prompt red centring on if the goal opportunity was clear-cut. It felt hard to argue it was not, even if Dzeko contrived to fluff his lines at the resultant penalty. Wojciech Szczesny did well to block with his feet, the ball cannoning back off the post and along the goalline for the keeper to claim, but the respite was temporary. Arsenal were blunted from then on in.
Wenger might at least have hoped dropping to 10 would have focused minds but his players still appeared groggy. Their defensive dawdling at a Barry free-kick midway through the first period was inexcusable: the England midfielder took it short, with David Silva and Carlos Tevez granted time to take touches before the Argentinian slid James Milner into space. Thomas Vermaelen had allowed him to slip away but the finish, crisp and first time across Szczesny and in off the far post, was still emphatic. Pablo Zabaleta's dispossession of Kieran Gibbs shortly afterwards, allowing Milner time to burst into the space behind the left-back, maintained the theme. The low centre was touched goalwards by Tevez, poorly tracked by Per Mertesacker, with Dzeko tapping in the rebound from Szczesny's save.
There was to be no recovery, even if Jack Wilshere's stubborn effervescence suggested he thought otherwise. Rather, City should have added to their tally before the break with Javi García's header nodded from the goalline by the young England midfielder, their concentration only wavering once victory was assured. Winning at the Emirates is not supposed to feel so comfortable and it was only after Szczesny had denied Tevez and Arsenal, sensing distraction, rallied late on that a thrill of competition belatedly flared up.
By then the cards had been flashed at will, the flurry of yellows broken by red for Kompany for his challenge on Wilshere. From the angle Dean may have considered the tackle two-footed and reckless, even if the Belgian's right foot was tucked in behind his left calf as he left the ground. The City captain was aghast, beating the turf in frustration and pointing to the ball that he had clearly won. There were echoes of his dismissal in the FA Cup against United last season, and a three-match ban to follow – taking in fixtures against Queens Park Rangers, Fulham and either Stoke or Crystal Palace in the FA Cup – unless their appeal proves successful.
Yet, while City mull over that possibility, Arsenal have more pressing concerns. This team trail United by 21 points but, more pertinently, Tottenham Hotspur in fourth by six with a game in hand. They welcome Swansea City to the Emirates for an FA Cup replay on Wednesday wondering if progress in that competition represents their sole route to silverware. Even the encouraging return of Abou Diaby after a four-month absence has been offset by Mikel Arteta's calf injury that will be scanned on Monday, and a three-week lay-off is anticipated.
Joleon Lescott cleared Arsenal's best opportunity, from Theo Walcott, off the line, but their approach had been undermined by that early trepidation and Koscielny's premature exit. They will need confirmation of Walcott's new contract to improve the mood, with critical days ahead. This was all too routine for comfort.
Man of the match James Milner (Manchester City)
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