If you are going to dish it out in football, you must always know that it might one day come right back at you. Manchester City learnt that on Sunday, when Arsenal thoroughly enjoyed avenging the antics and insults of September’s feisty clash, and the north London side themselves were made to endure a similar pain just three days later by Newcastle United.

Just as Arsenal revelled in defeating City and Erling Haaland on Sunday, so Newcastle delighted in defeating Arsenal and Mikel Arteta on Wednesday.

Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon spoke after the game about the need for his team to now “stay humble”, echoing Haaland’s words from September, while the home fans sang to Arteta that “it must be the ball”, in reference to the Arsenal manager saying that his players had failed to adapt to the different Carabao Cup ball in the first leg.

Newcastle’s social media channels even joined in the mockery – which comes after relations between these sides have soured considerably in recent years – by posting a picture of the ball, captioned with the words: “The culprit.”

Clearly, Newcastle felt there was a target on Arsenal’s back. Clearly, they succeeded in hitting that target. For Arsenal, it must have felt like a bucket of cold water to the face after the excitement and brilliance of Sunday’s thrashing of City.

Nothing will erase the delights of that win at the Emirates Stadium, of course. But a few days down the line, this defeat does add a different retrospective colour to that match. Arsenal fans wanted to see their team follow up on that victory, to surf the emotional wave. Instead, they were dunked under the surface by a Newcastle side who feasted on every tackle and loose ball.

Indeed, the nature of the battering – 2-0 on the night, 4-0 on aggregate – will only add to the fears among Arsenal supporters that this team are incapable of standing firm when it really matters, and when silverware is really on the line. Arsenal fell away in last season’s title race and they fell short at Newcastle, in a manner that will be alarming for all associated with the club.

With regard to the mockery on social media and from the stands, Arsenal will have no complaints. That is the nature of football. In the space of just a few days, they have been on both sides of this particular fence. It all adds to the emotion and drama of the sport, and Arsenal will know that the time has come to take their medicine before flying to a mid-season break in Dubai.

Could they have prevented some of this by not celebrating any of their goals on Sunday, or not giving it back to Haaland after his behaviour in September? Possibly. But where is the fun in that?

Not one Arsenal fan who attended the Emirates Stadium on Sunday can truthfully say they wish that afternoon was any different. It was their turn to dish it out on Sunday and, sadly for them, their turn to receive it just a few days later.