And so a new era begins at Arsenal, although you could be forgiven for not noticing had you not been paying close attention at the Emirates on Sunday.
Two soft goals conceded, groan after groan from a frustrated home faithful at every misplaced pass. There was even youngster plucked from obscurity in the French second tier and thrown into midfield.
Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose, as a certain Mr Wenger might say.
But of course, for the first time in 22 years, there is change in this red half of north London, if not quite a full revolution. Replacing Wenger is Unai Emery.
Change on the sideline
While Wenger was a placid presence on the sideline, his replacement is a frenetic bundle of energy, micromanaging his players at every opportunity, pulling them five yards into place here, another 10 yards there. But much like his predecessor, the Spaniard could do little to tame Pep Guardiola’s champions.
Arsenal started with what looked like a 4-3-3 formation but was in reality more of a 4-2-4 with Aaron Ramsey playing as a second striker alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Five new recruits were named in the matchday squad, with the biggest surprise being the inclusion of Matteo Guendouzi in the starting XI. The 19-year-old, who joined from Ligue 2 outfit Lorient this summer, lined up at the base of the midfield alongside Granit Xhaka and did not look fazed by the best the Premier League has to offer. He was in the thick of it from the off, imploring his teammates to give him the ball, looking forwards always, winning tackles and firing accurate diagonals.
Mixed start for the new boys
It was a confident start from the youngster until he was clattered by Raheem Sterling, an old-fashioned forward’s challenge sending the Sideshow Bob lookalike spiralling to the floor.
Guendouzi picked himself and his hair up off the turf but was slow getting back into the action and 10 minutes later was at fault for not returning the favour as the England forward attacked Arsenal’s box. Guendouzi hesitated, Sterling shimmied, shifted the ball onto his right foot and buried it into the corner.
That error was one of few marks marks against his name, the other being a botched clearance in the second-half that let Aguero in on goal, and it was a shame for him that it came in such a decisive moment of the match. One-nil City. One harsh lesson learned for the youngster.
Cech repays faith
One player who was supposed to have a bit more street smarts about him was Sokratis, the 30-year-old centre-half signed from Borussia Dortmund but he was guilty of a big, heaving lunge on Sergio Aguero on the edge of the box shortly after that opener and had Petr Cech to thank for a sharp double save from the resulting Riyad Mahrez free-kick.
The veteran goalkeeper, somewhat a surprise inclusion following Bernd Leno’s arrival in the summer, was one of Arsenal’s best performers but even in top form he could little do about City’s second, a rasping Bernardo Silva strike from the edge of the box.
Stephan Lichtsteiner and Lucas Torreira were introduced but neither man could stamp much authority on the game with City in control.
What next for Arsenal?
This new look Arsenal showed flashes of promise but there is a clear gulf in class between them and Guardiola’s champions.
In his programme notes for the game, Emery promised to turn Arsenal into of Europe’s best teams.
On Sunday’s evidence he has plenty of work to do.
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