According to Pep Guardiola, Manchester City ’s rivals want the club “wiped off the face of the Earth.” Everyone, he says, wants City to be punished in a way no Premier League club has ever been punished before. And, though he doesn’t mention Arsenal by name, it doesn’t feel like a wild stab in the dark to suspect they are uppermost in his thinking.

At the end of one of the great Premier League games, what do we have? Emphatic proof of Arsenal's defensive prowess, as if it were needed. Manchester City's indefatigability brought to life in John Stones becoming the first blue shirt in what felt like a lifetime to be second to a first ball.

What is the appropriate response to the prospect of playing for 55 minutes against Manchester City, at the Etihad Stadium, with 10 men? In the eyes of Pep Guardiola’s players, it seems, the dignified approach would be to roll over and simply wait for the thrashing to begin.