Did Pep Guardiola want to repopularise the 2-3-5 formation of the late 19th century? He dropped Yaya Touré in midfield on Sunday against Arsenal and replaced the Ivorian with Jesus Navas. At first, the selection seemed baffling, the Spaniard’s very own attempt at replicating strange tactical decisions – think David James as a City striker or England’s Harry Kane taking corners on international duty.

But perhaps, it was just a stroke of genius. Navas played at right-back, Fernandinho moved to the midfield as a screen in front of the defence. The game plan was simple: Allow Kevin De Bruyne to play deep, almost alongside Fernandinho, to see acres of space behind Arsenal’s rearguard and find the runs of Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling.

He did so after five minutes. Perhaps, the Belgian’s long pass forward was fortuitous, a blind hoick up in the London air, but it propelled Sane forward into the inside-left channel and with a beguiling ease he reduced both Hector Bellerin and Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina from animate objects to cones. With naive defending and unacceptable mistakes, Arsenal conceded in their trademark fashion.

Rudderless and disjointed Arsenal

De Bruyne’s ninth minute curler kissed the woodwork. This Manchester City unit were a knife cutting through butter and an utter scourge for a rudderless Arsenal. They targeted Arsenal’s central axis. Defending seemed optional for the hosts and so it was back to a north London lamentation of softness and fragility, with the managerial powers of Arsene Wenger under scrutiny once more.

On a gloriously spring day the Frenchman had shed his duvet coat for a suit, jumper, red tie combo, a less then suitable armour for the “No New Contract” movement that swept through the Emirates Stadium with a distribution of leaflets, requesting Wenger’s exit, and even demanding £4 donations for the cause. Cue the ad van, not a plane with banner this time.

It all had the feel of a general election day, with demonstrations, placards, infighting and a raging mob crying for Wenger’s crucification. In truth, Manchester City had the silhouette of a hangman, but they failed to deliver the coup de grace. By the half hour mark, Granit Xhaka and Francis Coaquelin, both card magnets and off little value to Arsenal, had been booked. If Laurent Koscielny were to go, the scoreline would have read 0-37 at the full-time whistle.

The promise and the implosion

Yet Arsenal were going through a brighter spell, all part of their inevitable blueprint for implosion, the bit where Arsenal, with the cunning of a con artist, mislead the audience into believing that they are an XI with a backbone, with a spine and the fortitude to play in, and belong to, the highest echelon of English football. Indeed, Theo Walcott stabbed in an equaliser.

Here was the momentum swing, the arrival of another new dawn Arsenal had so been yearning for, all to be brutally undone two minutes later by more mannequin defending and a Mesut Ozil turn-over. This time, Sergio Aguero, in acres of space again, duly obliged with an angled finish. Arsenal’s defending was risible.

It was all a bit bizarre, all a bit repetitive for Arsenal. When their captain didn’t emerge from the dressing room at half-time, with an Achilles problem, disaster lurked around every corner. Would 0-37 indeed be the scoreline? Or perhaps 1-5?

The second half was skittish, a 45 minutes punctuated by woeful passes, needless offsides and plenty of errors. City wanted to consolidate. Touré fortified the midfield, but the visitors were slack. They did have the better chances with Fernandinho’s rasping volley and Sergio Agüero’s headers. At the very end, the ball grazed Nacho Monreal’s arm inside the box, but referee Andre Mariner remained unmoved. The goal came at the other end – after 53 minutes, Shkodran Mustafi headed Arsenal’s second past Willy Caballero. City’s zonal marking was abject.

The 2-2 result was not a mirror of Arsenal’s defeatist existence, but a reproach of City. They enjoyed a fast start, lapsed into a weird drop-off before regaining some composure, a recurrent pattern for Guardiola’s team this season. At least, Wenger’s eleven demonstrated some grit and some resilience in their game. They were disjointed, but they didn’t yield. Instead they rallied for a draw. Arsenal weren’t heroic, but their performance, one with pluck and resolution, may be the roadmap to resuscitating their season somewhat.