Football fandom s unofficial laws dictate you must feel a sense of optimism however unrealistic they may be.
But surely even Arsenal supporters were just hoping to keep the score down at the Etihad Stadium before kick-off?
After all, history provided very little cause for positivity given they d lost their previous six games against whichever team were the Premier League s defending champions and been defeated in each of their past eight top-flight meetings with City.
And, true to form, it happened again.
This 5-0 embarrassment made it nine successive losses to City, a new Arsenal record for the most consecutive defeats to the same opposition in league competition.
While Arsenal and Mikel Arteta relieved the pressure slightly in midweek with their…