If seeing Manu Akanji and John Stones combine to gift Arsenal the opening goal wasn't bad enough, Erling Haaland then saw Gabriel Magalhaes race past him and aim a huge grin back at the City striker.

Those two have history, of course, with a physical battle at the Etihad in September ending in Haaland launching a ball at Gabriel's head and then clattering into him in the 99th minute after John Stones' equaliser.

Both Gabriel and Mikel Arteta played down the incident at the time, and repeated that in the build-up to Sunday's clash. Arteta told a press conference that what happens on the pitch stays on the pitch.

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But Haaland was booed relentlessly from the first whistle at the Emirates on Sunday and when Arsenal scored just two minutes in, Gabriel made a point of laughing in Haaland's face as he ran to join his teammates to celebrate.

In the match programme, Gabriel had said: "If I'm playing against Haaland, I'm not going to be quiet because I know how good he is. No, I need to be there, put myself at an even higher level and try to win every duel. I need to show up, to be present in those moments."

City levelled early in the second half when Erling Haaland headed home only for Thomas Partey to respond immediately with a deflected strike. And teenage defender Myles Lewis-Skelly then made it 3-1 to the Gunners with a fine finish before mimicking Haaland's sitting down cross-legged yoga pose celebration.