Arsenal endured a nightmarish first-half against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.Given the tumultuous start to the season that Arsenal had endured before their trip to the Etihad Stadium, there was a quiet feeling that the Gunners were a lamb to slaughter this weekend.And you'd be forgiven for thinking that was exactly the case when Mikel Arteta's men found themselves 2-0 down within the space of just 12 minutes, conceding two incredibly sloppy goals.
Arsenal's nightmare start
Ilkay Gundogan opened the floodgates with a clinical header from Gabriel Jesus' cross, exposing the cracks in Arsenal's make-shift defence including Sead Kolasinac and Callum Chambers.
And the north London club barely had time to digest that they had fallen behind when Ferran Torres doubled the champions' advantage, cashing in on some truly horrendous Arsenal defending.
Manchester City vs Arsenal Highlights (Football Terrace)
Shocking defending for Torres goal
Bernardo Silva's cross into the penalty area seemed to evade every Arsenal player and their dog before finding its way to the Spanish forward, who made no mistake finishing past Bernd Leno.
There was an element of controversy surrounding Aymeric Laporte's clash with Chambers but for the most part, the goal simply served as an indictment of Arsenal's woeful defensive organisation.
Xhaka sent off for wild tackle
However, just as Arsenal looked to have settled into the game after their two-quick concessions, things went from bad to worse as Granit Xhaka was given a straight red card for a wild challenge.
Xhaka has gained something of a reputation for his rash tackles and short temper in the Premier League and that couldn't have been more apparent than with his latest red card. Check it out:
It must be said that there is a healthy debate between fans as to whether Xhaka should have been dismissed or not, but at the end of the day, you simply can't be leaping into challenges like that.
Man City make it 3-0
The Swiss midfielder was always asking for trouble with such a reckless attempt to win the ball and it ultimately made life even harder for Arsenal, who slumped to a 3-0 deficit before half-time.
A slick team move that could be traced back to Ederson culminated in Jack Grealish finding it far too easy to penetrate the penalty area before laying it on a plate for Jesus to ripple the back of the net.
You really do have to wonder where Arsenal go from here...
