Is Pep Guardiola turning into Jose Mourinho?! Man City boss will only take his new-look side backwards if he continues looking to his old foe for tactical inspiration

Having lost 5-1 in this very same fixture back in February against a weaker Arsenal team than this, you can forgive City for returning to north London with the handbrake on. If they suffered another obliteration in that manner, they could already begin to kiss their Premier League title dreams goodbye.

In order to prevent this, Guardiola set out his stall in a far more conservative manner than ever before. Given Mikel Arteta had also picked a starting lineup showing a bit too much respect, City were actually good value for their 1-0 lead at half-time, hitting the Gunners with a killer counter which was expertly finished off by Erling Haaland. That excursion nine minutes in appeared to signal the end of their ambition, however, mustering up only one other chance of note from there on in. Nobody in blue could have any complaints about their barricades finally being breached by one straight ball over the top and a delectable dink from Gabriel Martinelli.

It begs the question over where City are going. Are they actually serious contenders or are they still way behind in their rebuild? Can Guardiola reinvent himself to keep up with this new wave of managers?