Although it was hardly a classic, as Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola engaged in more of a chess match regarding tactical flexibility as they sought to gain control, the actual game devolved into a cagey affair, as neither side piled forward with devotion, likely scared of losing rather than desperate to win.
However, it was the attacking impetus injected by Gabriel Martinelli that proved decisive, as his first-team effort took a heavy deflection off Nathan Ake and sent the Emirates into raptures.
The full-time scenes such a result sparked were electric, and they now sit atop the league table, only level with north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
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Whilst there were many standouts in what will likely go down as a famous victory, the midfield mastery of Declan Rice certainly proved decisive, and highlighted just how important it was for Edu to ensure it was the Gunners who secured his services, and not the Citizens.
Did Manchester City nearly sign Declan Rice?
There was a brief period in which their fierce title rivals entered the race for West Ham United's captain, forcing them to act with far more speed after what had been a long, drawn-out process beforehand.Desperate to ensure the best possible deal was achieved, they saw two bids rejected before Guardiola came in to crash the party, the latter of which totalled up to £90m. The Etihad outfit would submit a former offer of their own, although it would prove fruitless
Arteta could not allow such a fierce competitor to be bolstered through their own failures, and the eventual £105m deal was soon sealed. As The Athletic put it: "This time, it truly was all or nothing for Arsenal. No Plan B, no capacity for frugal switches to alternative targets and, therefore, no room for error. It was Declan Rice or bust."
Every deal they had made was linked to the England international and the qualities he was set to offer, which made their tentative initial movements more questionable.
Although they would get their man in the end, it could truly have been game over for the Gunners had City stolen their top target, as they saw Rice as the man capable of taking them to the next level and usurping the seemingly unstoppable side.
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Breaking the British transfer record marked a huge risk, but it is one that already seems to be paying off. His performance on Sunday marked a culmination of such a notion.
How did Declan Rice play vs Manchester City?
Starting alongside Jorginho and Martin Odegaard, it was widely expected that, were they to achieve success on Sunday afternoon, Rice would be key. He made up an important spine of a side without Bukayo Saka in the matchday squad and without Martinelli in the starting lineup.
So, it should come as no surprise that such a suggestion rang true, with his 7.7 Sofascore rating the highest of anyone on the pitch, only matched by teammate Ben White.
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