The William Saliba - Gabriel partnership at the heart of Arsenal's defence has been a force of nature this season and was at the top of its game here, restricting the normally rampant Manchester City to just one shot on target in 90 minutes.
After losing the previous eight encounters against Pep Guardiola's side by an aggregate score of 22-4, Arsenal came to the Etihad with a renewed sense of confidence that they could get a result, duly exhibiting a steel and determination that evaded them not only last season, but throughout most of the last decade.
With 12 clean sheets in 29 games and just 24 goals conceded, both league-best figures, the Gunners are building their charge on an extremely strong rearguard, personified by their centre-back duo.
Anonymous Haaland
Despite sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League scoring charts with 18 goals, the Norwegian is nowhere near his level of last season, with the flaws in his game outside of goalscoring becoming exposed in a City side that is not quite as free-flowing as during the previous campaign.
In the post-match analysis, Roy Keane referred to Haaland as a "League Two player" and, whilst the striker's imperious goalscoring stats may say otherwise, his all-round play was brought sharply into focus as his team toiled without reward. Manchester City fans have seen the likes of Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko don the sky blue in the past decade and, while Haaland may have outscored them all, there is little rational argument to suggest he is anywhere near their level in terms of overall play.
In addition to the eye test, the stats also suggest a conspicuous absence of performance from the Norwegian in the biggest games, not only this season, but over the course of his Manchester City career as a whole.
Declan Rice: The £105m Bargain
There were raised eyebrows at the fee Arsenal paid West Ham upon completion of the signing of Declan Rice back in July, but the English midfielder has proven to be worth every penny.
Commanding, mobile and exceptionally technically capable, Rice has shown credentials to be among the best midfielders in Europe and showed them once again at the Etihad, locking down the likes of Phil Foden and Mateo Kovacic and representing the embodiment of the extra little bit of big-game management that Arsenal have acquired this season.
A sterile game that didn't live up to the billing, but a huge point for Arsenal
Whilst the game itself was a turgid affair, the implications for both teams in the title race, as well as big winners of the day Liverpool, are huge. In coming through the Etihad test unscathed, Arsenal have demonstrated a resilience that they didn't have last season and shown they will be in the title hunt until the very end.
For City, nothing has been lost, but there seems to have been a fading of the aura of invincibility that has been present for the past few years under Guardiola. They don't need it to win the league, and are still very much in the race, but Arsenal and Liverpool have reasons to feel confident that either can make it over the line in pole position.
