Manchester City punish calamitous keeper Runar Runarsson to add to Mikel Arteta’s woe

When Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola previously met in cup combat, when Arsenal prevailed 2-0 in the FA Cup semi-final in July, it seemed as though the dawn of a new era of optimism at Arsenal. Five months on, the mood music could scarcely be more different. Guardiola admitted on Sunday that Manchester City lack momentum at the moment, but they brushed aside Arsenal here, condemning Arteta’s flatlining team to their fifth defeat in the past eight games.

Arsenal were fatally undermined by a disastrous performance from Runar Runarsson, their understudy goalkeeper who was at fault for City’s second goal and hardly covered himself in glory for the two either side. But they were also lacking in organisation, enterprise and — as so often —