Eamon Dunphy column: Arsenal know that they have Manchester City's measure and can drive on

A good referee should be invisible. You should forget he's there. With Michael Oliver, that is definitely never the case. What should have been a classic game came close to farce at times, and the referee was a big reason why that was happening.

Sunday at the Emirates was a throwback Arsenal performance and win. A reminder of the George Graham days.

The two titles they won under the Scot were based on tenacious defending and closing out games when going in front. And they were desperately unlucky not to win this time, in the toughest of circumstances.

To win away to Manchester City would have been impressive enough, but to do so while playing the whole second half with 11 men would have been something else. Instead, John Stones had the final say but I think this game showed that Arsenal are good enough to prise the title out of City's grasp.

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City had 28 shots in the second half, Arsenal had just one - but, in a strange way, the Gunners held them out quite comfortably until the very end.

In my opinion, referee Michael Oliver had a huge part to play in Arsenal not taking all three points.

The decision to send off Leandro Trossard was wrong to me, and had a massive bearing on the game.

Understandably, given how much pressure they were under, Arsenal players went down with cramp.

Oliver was having none of it. It seemed as if he felt they were time wasting.

There were other times in the game where Oliver was too prominent.

He's not a referee I have much time for - that's because I've watched far too many games where he becomes the centre of attention.

A good referee should be invisible. You should forget he's there. With Oliver, that is definitely never the case.

I thought what should have been a classic game came close to farce at times, and the referee was a big reason why that was happening.

Go back to Arsenal's second goal. Oliver called Kyle Walker to him to show him a yellow card and then didn't give him time to get back into position before the Arsenal free-kick was taken.

That kind of stuff drives players around the bend - and it annoys plenty of fans too.

You'd also have to wonder about the extra time Oliver allowed on top of the announced seven minutes. Stones took advantage, that's for sure.

The big picture is that Arsenal's strong form on the road continues.

Mikel Arteta's men have now gone to Aston Villa, Tottenham and City - three of their toughest away trips - and have taken seven points out of nine.

The big picture is that we have more evidence that this is an Arsenal team with real steel and character.

Arsene Wenger's title winning sides had strong defences as well as attacking flair, but Arteta's team are more like a Graham than a Wenger one.

He hasn't won a trophy yet but Arteta looks increasingly like the real deal as a manager.

Before he got the job, many high profile managers were linked with Arsenal, including Massimiliano Allegri and Diego Simeone, so you might wonder why they would be interested in Arteta - who has just two years of coaching experience at Manchester City under his belt?

Well, the club does have a strong tradition of taking a punt on managers.

Wenger was famously depicted as 'Arsene Who?' in a headline after being plucked from the obscure backwater of Grampus Eight in Japan.

Bruce Rioch had just got Bolton promoted to the Premier League when he got the nod, and George Graham was at Millwall when Arsenal made their move for him.

Arteta's big signing was Declan Rice - an enforcer who protects the back four. Everything Arsenal do is based on being very, very hard to break down.

Go back over that second half where City were camped outside the Arsenal box.

Most of their efforts on goal were from long distance, and a fair few of the efforts came from their centre-halves.

City really missed Kevin de Bruyne and we didn't see Phil Foden and Jack Grealish until late on.

But we have to remember that Arsenal were without their captain Martin Odegaard and were a man down.

Another big call Arteta made was signing David Raya in the summer of 2023 even though Aaron Ramsdale had just made the PFA Team of the Season.

Arteta knew he needed something more from his goalkeeper and Raya looks like a bargain.

He was immense yesterday. Not flashy, just doing what he should do to a very high standard.

In front of him, Raya has a defence that are very hard to break down, and the centre-halves are a lethal weapon in attacking setpieces too.

When the dust settles, Arsenal will feel this was a big point. They will feel that they have City's number and can drive on to the title.

I do feel that the case hanging over City is having an impact on them.

There is a crankiness to different City personnel - Pep Guardiola, especially - in their dealings with the media.

They were getting involved in needless spats against Arsenal, they aren't at their best.

Much was made of Arsenal having Erling Haaland's number but it has to be said that his goal was sensational.

Watch his run and how he stayed onside. Most strikers would have drifted just off, but he put a little stutter into his run to stay on.

It's something that should be put on coaching videos. Haalan's finish was superb too.

City deserve credit for persevering until the final whistle and they ended up getting something out of the game.

But I think Arsenal will take a lot more out of this game. There's a long way to go, but the Gunners have started the season in hugely impressive fashion.

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