Narrowing gap, but Mikel Arteta still has a distance to travel on the road

Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, right, and Manchester City defender Ruben Dias compete for a header in Saturday’s clash at the Etihad Stadium. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA

For Mikel Arteta, the final frontier turned out to be territory he knew well. The Spaniard’s transformative effect on Arsenal has been apparent in their improved results against their peers and superiors, sealed by a hat-trick of triumphs over Liverpool in three months.

He has prevailed at home and in Wembley’s neutral surroundings, on penalties and in cups. What he has not done is won away in the league at the big six. He is not alone in that. Arteta was Arsenal’s injured club captain when they last triumphed on enemy territory; it was January 2015, sufficiently long ago that Tomas Rosicky, who played then, is now in his 40s. Arteta has overseen a win at the Etihad Stadium since then, but as the assistant to whom Pep Guardiola delegated tactics against Arsenal in December 2016.