And thus ends the wild ride that was Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal.

Arsenal mixed determination, composure and togetherness into one package, and so very nearly beat a team that have only lost 2 of their last 80 matches at home – a record dating back to November 2021. And we so very nearly achieved it with 10 men, too.

Despite that horrible feeling of glorious failure, the positives are still overwhelming. Three incredibly tough away games in the space of a week, and we didn’t lose one. Domestically it also means we have navigated that horrible-looking opening three away matches without defeat – while extending our 2024 unbeaten away record to: won 10, drawn 2, lost 0 – Goals for 33, Goals against 5.

We may not have been at our free-flowing best as yet, but we have still come away from our tough opening five fixtures unbeaten, and now it is time to give the first answer to a question that will be asked many times in the coming weeks: how will Arsenal fare without Martin Ødegaard?

We showed we can still defend as a unit very, very well without the Norwegian. Now though, our next three Premier League matches see us host Leicester and Southampton, followed by a trip to Bournemouth after the next international break. Matches where we will face teams packing out their own defensive third. Matches, where typically – we would rely on Martin to help unlock those doors.

Either way, these are matches we should win and we need to win. And if we do, things could really start to fall into place. A run of victories to push us into late-October with the returns of Mikel Merino and Ødegaard himself then on the horizon? Sounds perfect.

And speaking of individuals, an obvious hard-to-ignore moment from the weekend came with Riccardo Calafiori’s first goal for the club. A beautiful, sweeping longshot, arching away from Ederson’s reach and into the City goal.

And with such a gorgeous strike helping us towards a valiant point, I wanted to know your favourite goal that opened a player’s goalscoring account with The Gunners. It could be as crisp as the late José Antonio Reyes’ first goal against Chelsea, or it could be the “I was there” feeling of seeing John Jensen’s only goal for the club. Whatever one is your favourite for whatever reason, I’d love to hear it.

Nevertheless, another week of thrills, pride and bizarre decisions to digest. But the genuine belief we can have in this side is a great feeling. Let’s just hope we’re allowed to keep 11 men on the pitch for the remaining 33 matches, hey…

Nick