Football fandom's unofficial laws dictate you must feel a sense of optimism however unrealistic they may be.
But surely even Arsenal supporters were just hoping to keep the score down at the Etihad Stadium before kick-off?
After all, history provided very little cause for positivity given they'd lost their previous six games against whichever team were the Premier League's defending champions and been defeated in each of their past eight top-flight meetings with City.
And, true to form, it happened again.
This 5-0 embarrassment made it nine successive losses to City, a new Arsenal record for the most consecutive defeats to the same opposition in league competition.
While Arsenal and Mikel Arteta relieved the pressure slightly in midweek with their 6-0 thrashing of West Brom in the League Cup, in reality that will carry little importance within the wider narrative of the Gunners' hapless start to the campaign.
Of course, they have had a tricky beginning to 2021-22 with injuries and coronavirus cases, plus Chelsea and now City in their first three matches… though they also lost to promoted Brentford on matchday one, so it's not all just down to facing deeper or better squads.
Against City, much that went wrong initially was more to do with Arsenal being quintessentially Arsenal than City being excellent.
The hosts were in front after just seven minutes, Ilkay Gundogan nodding home after Calum Chambers misjudged the flight of Gabriel Jesus' cross, while Bernd Leno seemed to do his best to get out of the way.
Gundogan and Bernardo Silva in particular were causing Arsenal significant issues with their forays between the lines, City's fluidity and flexibility going forward leaving the Gunners' backline panicking on a regular basis.
City's control in those early stages just seemed to startle Arteta's men – whether by design or not is unclear – into a state of hyper-defensiveness and that too backfired as they fell 2-0 down after just 12 minutes.
Arsenal simply refused to press City after a short free-kick. Bernardo had the freedom to play a cross into the box from deep, and although it wasn't even particularly good, Cedric Soares' feeble attempt to clear just nudged the ball through to Ferran Torres for an easy finish.
At that point, the only thing preventing this from being 'peak Arsenal', as the kids would say, was a red card for Granit Xha…
With half-time approaching, the Swiss midfielder went flying in on Joao Cancelo with both feet off the ground. He may have got the ball and the contact on the City man seemed minimal, but it was dangerous, reckless and a blatant red card.
Of course, he's become accustomed to those, with his four red cards since the start of 2016-17 a joint high in the Premier League.
Eight minutes later, City had their third through Jesus after great work by Jack Grealish and there will surely have been a few Arsenal fans fearing the worst on what was the 10th anniversary of their worst Premier League defeat – that's right, the 8-2 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Ultimately – and this may or may not be a consolation to Arteta – it didn't get quite that bad as City only added two more goals through Rodri and Torres in the second half, but in fairness to Arsene Wenger, at least his team scored two of their own 10 years ago.
At the Etihad on Saturday, just getting a shot away would have been considered an achievement for the Gunners, as they only managed one in the entire match. That sixth-minute Bukayo Saka effort's xG value of 0.11 was higher than their xG-per-shot average of 0.06 going into the weekend, though no team in the division had a poorer record before Saturday.
On top of that, striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang didn't have a single touch in the opposition's box during a game he started for only the fourth time in his Premier League career – three of which have been against City – and the first time since October 2019.
Sure, Arsenal were a man light against a very good City, but it would still be expected to see a little more fight. Instead, they looked resigned to a hammering.
Questions of Arsenal's mentality have been rife throughout Arteta's time in charge, particularly relating to their discipline, and this performance was just another in a long series of no-shows.
Heading into Saturday, so much of the talk surrounding this match wasn't even focused on the fixture, rather City's inability to bring in a new striker – or, more specifically, Cristiano Ronaldo.
But Arsenal's meek performance stole the show. Just as the Premier League table now shows for at least a few hours, this was top versus bottom in every sense, and from Arteta's perspective there's no more damning conclusion to be made than that.
From Paul Pogba to Angel Di Maria – Manchester United’s recent flops
Jadon Sancho is seemingly been frozen out at Manchester United after he took to social media to claim he has been made a “scapegoat” for poor results.
It leaves his future in doubt and if he was to leave, it would see him become the latest big-money flop to grace the Old Trafford turf in recent years.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some others.
Paul PogbaPogba has to go down as one of the biggest flops in the club’s history. He came through the youth system only to leave on a free transfer to join Juventus before United then paid close to £90million to bring him back in 2016. There were flashes of brilliance but they were outweighed by lethargic, inconsistent performances and he again left on a free in the summer of 2022.
Donny van de BeekThe Dutch midfielder was one of the hottest properties in Europe as he was part of the Ajax side that lit up the Champions League on the way to the 2018/19 semi-finals. He was bought for £35million in 2020 but has never got going at Old Trafford. Even a reunion with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag has failed to resurrect a highly promising career and he remains in the wilderness.
Angel Di MariaWhen the Argentina international signed from Real Madrid in 2014 for just shy of £60million he was one of the most expensive players in the game, but that did not translate into his performances at Old Trafford as he struggled to make an impact, which was not helped by his wife’s outspoken views on her new surroundings. One year and just 32 appearances later he was sold to Paris St Germain.
Henrikh MkhitaryanA £30million signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2016, big things were expected of Mkhitaryan given his outstanding performances in the Bundesliga. However, he failed to deliver and just 18 months later he was a makeweight in a deal that saw United sign Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal – another move which was hardly a success story.
Harry MaguireThe England defender has copped a lot of flak and has for large parts been a solid and dependable performer for United. But because of his £80million fee in 2019, which made him the most expensive defender in the world at the time, he has been scrutinised more than most. He currently finds himself out of Ten Hag’s plans, after losing the captaincy, which means he has not delivered value for money.
AntonyRegardless of the Brazil winger’s current off-field problems, he has simply not delivered on his eye-watering £82million fee. He is very much a Ten Hag signing, following the manager from Ajax last summer, but his first season at Old Trafford was disappointing and his start to this campaign has not been much better.
FA in contact with Sheffield United over appropriate tribute to Maddy Cusack
The Football Association is in contact with Sheffield United over an appropriate tribute to Maddy Cusack, who has died at the age of 27.
Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA’s director of women’s football, said the organisation was offering its support to the club.
“On behalf of the FA, the Lionesses, the Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship, our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Maddy’s family, friends, team-mates and everyone at Sheffield United,” Baroness Campbell said.
“Maddy also represented England at age-group level and we will pay tribute to her at an appropriate point.”
Billy Sharp, the former captain of United’s men’s team, also paid tribute to her on social media.
“Such a lovely girl. Enjoyed some amazing times with Maddy and the Blades. Such a sad loss. RIP Maddy,” he posted on X.
Cusack had been named vice-captain of Sheffield United last month, had just started her sixth season with the Blades in the Championship and was the longest-serving player in their current squad.
She also worked as a marketing executive at the club.
In a statement issued on the club’s official website on Thursday, United said: “Sheffield United Football Club is devastated to report the sad news of the passing of Maddy Cusack.”
Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out also said it was “deeply saddened” by the news of Cusack’s death.
'The numbers don't lie' – Djokovic hailed as greatest of all time by Lopez
Novak Djokovic is just one grand slam away from becoming the most decorated player in history and Feliciano Lopez believes "the numbers don't lie" when it comes to debating tennis' greatest.
Serbia's Djokovic equalled Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam triumphs after defeating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets at the US Open earlier in September.
That made the world number one, aged 36 years and 111 days at the time, the oldest winner of the men's singles title at the US Open.
It was also Djokovic's third major crown of 2023, winning a trio of grand slams in a calendar year for the fourth time in his career,
Davis Cup tournament director Lopez, who had previously hailed Djokovic for featuring at the "unique" competition, suggested no one in history compares with the 36-year-old.
Asked by Stats Perform if Djokovic was the GOAT – greatest of all time – Lopez said: "According to the numbers, yes. The numbers don't lie.
"If you look at the stats, Novak is the best. So, I mean, what can I say?
"I think the numbers are very clear, not only by the fact that he's won 24 slams, but also there are other numbers and other statistics that clearly show he's the best player who ever played the sport.
"According to the numbers, I cannot say anything different."
Djokovic triumphed at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open, only missing out on a clean sweep of the majors after losing the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz.
As for Djokovic's chances for more major success going forward, Lopez believes the sky is still the limit.
"It's very difficult to predict honestly, but as long as he's feeling physically strong I think it's clear that his will in the last three or four years is to keep winning grand slams," Lopez added.
"If he is able to sustain his physical condition for the next two years, I can fairly say that he can win, I don't know, two, three or four, but it's very difficult to say one number because this year, for example, he could have won all four.
"He won in Australia, he won in Paris, he was very close to winning Wimbledon because of that second-set tie-break, and he just won the US Open.
"You ask me how many grand slams you think he will win in the future when he just won three of them in the same year!
"I don't know, maybe three or four more is fair to say, but it's very difficult to predict."
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