Dorothy

Key players/weak links Sasa Lukic looks to be exactly the type of signing we need to be making. 30 years old, good Premier League experience to add some no-nonsense mettle and physicality. There will need to be more like him and Issa Diop through the spine of the team. One youngster to watch: Sindre Walle Egeli has just turned 20, and signed for a Championship record fee of £17.5m last August. He had an up-and-down season but has had a really good pre-season in the No 10 role.

Having said that, Maresca would not be well-advised to completely discount what he saw in this heavy defeat. Even before the game began, there was a clear gap in terms of depth and quality. Rodri's absence could be put down to the minor back surgery he underwent after the World Cup but the Ballon d'Or winner may well have played his last game as Barcelona look to secure his services. Having him bed in Elliot Anderson would have been ideal for City. It may not be that they get what they want.

This was an Arsenal that had got its swagger back, that played with a disdain for the opposition that can only be shown by those with a championship medal back home. The route to the title had been one of emotional whiplash, in every "it's so over" there emerging a "we're so back" for the ages. Today was for cutting loose, the victorious supporters in Cardiff's Principality Stadium not so politely informing the smaller Manchester City contingent that they had seen the champions and should now consider getting home post haste.

If there was one of his many assets Newcastle supporters grew to love above all about Bruno Guimarães then it was best summed up by the man himself after being unveiled as Arsenal’s new £75m signing. “That’s a tough one,” said the Brazil midfielder when asked what fans in north London can expect from him. “I would say I can pass the ball, run a lot and play like a warrior. I’ll never give up.”

The biggest signings so far have all been midfielders: Morgan Rogers to Chelsea for $156 million; Elliot Anderson to Man City for $155 million; Sandro Tonali to Tottenham for $133 million; and Guimaraes to Arsenal for $100 million.

Like Maresca at City, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola and Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso took charge this summer, while Manchester United's Michael Carrick and Tottenham's Roberto de Zerbi were appointed partway through last season.

After the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, only two 19th-placed sides failed to reach 30 points in the first 21 seasons. But in the last decade, seven of the 10 sides to finish in that position have failed to do so.