Such is the standard Manchester City are setting this season, an away draw against a title rival can no longer be considered a good result.

Unless the wheels fall off of Pep Guardiola's record-making team — and there have been no signs of this — the chasing pack lives with the knowledge that anything other than a victory is failure. It is now the must-win league.

Arsenal plays Tottenham Hotspur in the first of the post-international Premier League matches and coming away from Emirates Stadium, where the home team has won its last 10 games, with a point would normally be satisfying. Not now.