There were plainly scores to settle from the previous meeting, a desire for one-upmanship in an ­increasingly fractious rivalry and how ­Arsenal ­settled them. The moment of the match was provided by Myles Lewis‑Skelly; the image of it, too.

When the precociously talented 18-year-old scored with a curling shot for 3-1, crowning a driving performance, he sank into a meditative yoga pose that had previously been the copyright of Erling Haaland. What a way to score and celebrate your first senior goal.

It was a dig at the Manchester City striker after the acrimony of the 2-2 draw between the clubs at the ­Etihad Stadium last September, which had featured – among other things – a bust-up between him and his ­Arsenal marker, Gabriel Magalhães. Haaland was also keen to tell Mikel Arteta to “stay humble” as tempers flared after full time.

Related: Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City: Premier League – live reaction

For a brief moment it looked as though Haaland would have the last laugh. It was he who rose in the 55th minute to equalise Martin ­Ødegaard’s early goal. But this was a day when Arsenal flexed their muscles, when they had too much power and desire. And when City subsided in end-of-era fashion.

Arteta’s team knew they had to win to remain on the coattails of the ­Premier League leaders, ­Liverpool; to keep their title dreams alive, ­however faint they have come to feel. ­Liverpool have just been remorseless. Arsenal did so, ­absorbing the ­Haaland goal to subject City to an ordeal.

Thomas Partey’s deflected shot put them back in front and after Lewis‑Skelly’s tour de force, they were on their way to the rout. The pressure was lifted. They enjoyed themselves. Kai Havertz scored for 4-1, the striker making amends for a glaring first-half miss and the ­picture-perfect afternoon was completed when Arsenal’s 17-year-old prodigy, Ethan Nwaneri, on as a ­substitute, drifted inside to bend home a ­wonderful shot.

It was too easy for Arsenal and the latest occasion when it was hard to recognise City from previous seasons. The concessions were marked not only by errors but a looseness about their defensive work, a sluggishness, a reluctance to get tight. Pep Guardiola has long since conceded the title. What price them salvaging anything from the most difficult season of his dynasty at the club? On this evidence, they cannot hope to get past Real Madrid in their upcoming Champions League playoff.

Arsenal brought the intensity at the outset and they were in front inside two minutes, the concession a disaster for City and a horror show for Manuel Akanji.

The centre-half accepted a pass from John Stones and he wanted too much time. When Akanji then took a heavy touch, Leandro ­Trossard was quick to get a foot in, the ball ­breaking for Declan Rice, whose first-time pass found Havertz. He was onside, City’s defensive structure in tatters, Stones still deep. Havertz went square for Ødegaard and the finish was a simple one.

The tensions simmered. Gabriel Martinelli had the ball in the City net minutes later, dinking Stefan Ortega after an Ødegaard pass only for the offside flag to deny him. At the other end, Gabriel turned to scream in Haaland’s face. Gabriel had talked of a “war” at the Etihad Stadium and how Arsenal would be waiting for City. Everybody was on edge.

City stabilised for a while and there was the moment when they almost equalised, Josko Gvardiol ­rising to meet an Omar Marmoush corner and David Raya pushing the ball up and watching it come back down on top of the ­crossbar, with Haaland waiting underneath. Savinho also extended the Arsenal goalkeeper with the first half about to end.

The main takeaway from the first period was that City were playing with fire in their determination to build from the back. Arsenal set the traps and it was remarkable to see Ortega fall into one on 26 minutes. Mateo Kovacic surely did not want the ball with Rice so close and he was duly dispossessed outside his area. It was another dividend of the Arsenal hustle. The ball fell to Havertz and he had the time to pick his spot against Ortega and the covering Stones. He dragged wide.

City knew the onus was on them. They squeezed perilously high. Phil Foden roamed from the right flank, trying to make something happen. Which he did. Only to then undo the good work almost immediately.

First Foden went up through the lines for Savinho, a lovely little pass and, when the Brazilian stood up the cross, Haaland had the position in front of William Saliba. He leapt high and seemed to hang there before thumping the header beyond Raya.

City were soon behind again and it was not a moment that Foden will enjoy rewatching. His crossfield pass went straight to Partey, whose shot from distance took a heavy deflection off Stones to beat Ortega. Arsenal did not look back thereafter, and there was a final insult for City when it was all over. The play-out song inside the stadium? Humble, by Kendrick Lamar.