Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and his players could not hide their pain in the pouring Mancunian rain as a statement win they would rate higher than any other was snatched away at the death.
The clock read 97 minutes and 14 seconds – those 14 seconds crucial to chaotic conclusion – when John Stones rewarded Manchester City’s increasingly desperate efforts with an equaliser.
City manager Pep Guardiola led celebrations that smacked of victory rather than a point claimed at the last, this in itself a testimony to the tortuous experience this increasingly mature and steely Arsenal put them through.