COMMENT: They froze. They were exposed. For Arsenal at the Etihad on Wednesday night, reality hit them - and the Premier League - right between the eyes.

Manchester City were bigger, stronger and simply better than the soon to be deposed Prem leaders. Quicker. Sharper. More aggressive. City demolished the Gunners by skill and brute force. It was the tiqui-taca of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona combined with the raw power of 1980s English football. And it left Arsenal's players, man-for-man, humiliated.

They froze did Arsenal. From the opening minutes. And we say froze, as it was as much mental as physical. This young team wasn't ready for such a night. Just as they weren't ready for Sporting CP in the Europa League. They played the occasion, not the game. City worked at another level. The skill and touch of Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva. The power and pace of Erling Haaland. Arsenal couldn't live with that. But the superiority was so much more...

The nutmegging of Rob Holding and Granit Xhaka. The movement of John Stones. City's goals owed as much to speed of thought as any technical action. Guardiola's men were ready. Focused. They were living off another plane. For Arsenal. For Europe. For anyone watching. It was the mother of all reality checks - including for this column.

As last night barrelled on, it become ever more clear Arsenal had been playing above their station. The kids had done well. But this was another level altogether. Guardiola rolled them out. The warhorses. Some in their prime. Others who've seen their best days. But they knew the occasion. They knew what was required. And they delivered.

Arsenal aren't the best team in the country. Not even close. Wednesday night at the Etihad proved that. Indeed, De Bruyne's two goals proved that.

Aaron Ramsdale won what little praise was afforded Arsenal's players in the aftermath last night. But De Bruyne's sixth minute opener was soft. He wasn't up for it, was Ramsdale. He wasn't ready. To be sunk from outside his area. By a low drive. Title-winning goalkeepers aren't beaten like that. Ederson? Thibaut Courtois? Michael Maignan? Can you see any of them conceding as Ramsdale did in those opening minutes...?

And what about the build-up? Haaland allowed to control and turn by Holding before playing through De Bruyne all inside City's half. It really did lay the marker for what was to come.

And then for City's third goal - and De Bruyne's second - we had another example of the gulf in class on the night. Again, inside the opening ten minutes of the second-half, when every player should be switched on, Martin Odegaard, the Arsenal captain, gives up possession to De Bruyne. He feeds Haaland and makes a supporting run before getting the ball back. And then he waits... and waits.. and then strokes a passing-shot through Holding's legs, beating Ramsdale at his far post. It was embarrassingly simple. Almost in slow-motion. The sort of goal you see in injury-time of a one-sided game. Not in the 54th minute of the biggest clash of the season.

Odegaard would later concede Arsenal lacked aggression, "we should have won more duels" - which was right. As we say, City were bigger, stronger. But it wasn't just sheer power or even experience that won City this game. It was skill, creativity. These home players were always a step ahead of their opposition. Even at the final whistle they weren't giving an inch as handbags were thrown. This is the big time. It's City stage. And as we say, Arsenal just couldn't live with them.

So what now of Arsenal? Nine points lost in four games. Played off the pitch at their title rivals. It's been perhaps the most spectacular title collapse we've seen this century. And the crazy thing is, the Gunners still lead the table.

But that's just it... the superiority of City on the night can have no-one doubting we saw the country's best team in action. Their name's not on the trophy yet, but it can only be a matter of time.

Class caught up to Arsenal. The errors of Oleks Zinchenko against Liverpool and Southampton. The loss of William Saliba and lack of quality depth to cover him. Indeed, the lack of options available to Arteta as individuals struggled to maintain their form. It all came to a head last night.

As we stated in a past column, changes will be made as this Arsenal team evolves. Favourites will be shed. It's football. It's part of the cycle of any successful team. At City on Wednesday, so many were found wanting. So many were found short of what is required to win this Premier League title.

The barometer. The yardstick. However you want to describe Pep's City, Arsenal were steamrolled by it last night. Reality hit them right between the eyes.