As you were. Arsenal needed a trouble-free afternoon and, after a scratchy first third of this game, sailed home with the most comfortable three points they will earn all season.
Any stumble would have looked all the more significant given the manner of Manchester City’s earlier success but the outcome was in scant doubt from the moment Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring with a penalty 10 minutes before half-time.
He would double his tally, in a timely return to scoring form, after a goal from Ben White; a reply from Rasmus Kristensen never felt consequential and was quickly followed by Granit Xhaka’s third goal in as many club games.
Mikel Arteta can reflect that the first stage of a 10-game sprint was completed with little fuss. The burning question was how Arsenal would handle playing straight after such a statement win from their closest rivals.