Arsenal vs Manchester City result: Hosts left in need of firm hand on another afternoon of malaise

Was it the first goal? When Fernandinho carried the ball out of defence with as much intent as someone testing the surface of a frozen pond and was allowed to continue uninhibited to thread a ball through to Gabriel Jesus.

Perhaps the second: when three Arsenal players could not prevent Rodri playing out from the edge of his box, three more failed to close down Kevin De Bruyne’s cross and no one thought to pick up Raheem Sterling chilling out at the back post.

Or the way De Bruyne then ghosted in from the right for the third, ushered through to the edge of the box and showing off his left foot once more.

Maybe it wasn’t a goal at all. How about Lucas Torreira winning the ball in his own half and then shrugging to all corners of the ground at the lack of options ahead of him like a John Travolta GIF manifest? Or the counter-attacks that started with an overload and ended with a pass all the way back to the last defender as impetus and enthusiasm drained?

Or when Mesut Ozil strolled off when substituted on 59 minutes, cheered by his own fans and then booed by them for not departing quick enough and reacting by volleying his gloves beyond the Arsenal dugout.

Whatever it was, here was a match littered with moments that spoke not just of Arsenal’s deep malaise but the need for a stern hand to come in and shake this club to its core. Of a lack of discipline and, seemingly, an absence of capacity or desire to correct it.

Manchester City were there to target. One bested by their cross-town rivals only a week ago through simple counter-attacking. It was their fourth defeat in 16 matches and, without question, the end of their title defence. After the host’s success at West Ham on Monday, you’d have thought there would be a spring in their step.

Yet they were second to almost every ball, seconds behind every opponent in black and with absolutely no idea how to rectify it. It would be generous to say they were even chasing shadows out there.

At this point it feels unfair to put any of this at Ljungberg’s door. Disgruntlement has now seeped into the fibres of this club and match days like this only seem to exacerbate it.

So, you could understand the attacking tinge to his starting line-up. Those seven minutes at West Ham last Monday showed there are still pockets of joy to be found among the wreckage of this season. Sure, going toe-to-toe with this City side – one with something to prove – was always going to be a risk. But what did Arsenal have to lose?

Yet it became very clear that the set-up was not fit for purpose. What looked on paper a potent mix of attacking quality turned out to be more of a dirty pint of questionable selections contained within “the usual” of a 4-3-3. Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac as the positionally suspect full-backs; Calum Chambers the wide-man thrust into the middle; Aubameyang, Simone Pepe, Martinelli and Mesut Ozil the attacking four who interacted with as much success as divorcees.

The most worrying thing is treading water is no option because Arsenal are sinking without someone who can come in and actually impose something – anything – and hold these players to account. The biggest criticism of Ljungberg – and the most justified – is he has been unable to do the simplest part of being a new manager: lift the dressing room.

The lack of confidence was in every dawdled pass, in the “here we go again” puff of the cheeks with each goal conceded and the fact that the save forced out of Ederson by Gabriel Martinelli in the first minute was Arsenal’s only shot on target all match.

Much like his team, Ljungberg was not immune to rookie errors. Not replacing Kolasinac with Buyako Saka immediately after the left-back was removed from play with an ankle injury meant Arsenal played a couple of minutes with 10-men. As if being out-played was not enough, now they were out-numbered. It was during this period that City grabbed their third.

However, maybe most demoralising was that Mikel Arteta was here to witness it all. The Spaniard is seen as the standout candidate to take the Arsenal job on a full time basis both with the bookies and the Arsenal board. But after those 93 minutes, what must he be thinking?

Why would he trust these listless players with the formative years of his managerial career when the team he is at now has the structure for him to thrive and, perhaps at the end of the season, a more appealing vacancy, too?

Every display like this is a knock to Arsenal's ambition and a knock to their pulling power. And another reason for Arteta to wonder if the job he coveted in 2018 is worth the hassle in 2019.