Arsenal duo Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber made unwanted Premier League history in the Gunners' 2-2 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Mikel Arteta's men travelled north knowing that all three points would be enough to supplant the champions at the top of the rankings, although they had not won at the Etihad since January 2015.
The Gunners' Emirates hoodoo looked set to continue when Erling Haaland slotted home his 100th goal for Man City early doors, but Arteta's men incredibly went into half time a goal ahead thanks to Riccardo Calafiori's stunner and a Gabriel Magalhaes header.
However, Arsenal were forced to play the entire second half with 10 men, as Leandro Trossard was dismissed for kicking the ball away while on a yellow card, sharing the same fate as Declan Rice against Brighton & Hove Albion.
As expected, Arteta's men spent the majority of the second half with their backs against the wall in a 5-4-0 formation, which initially looked set to pay dividends as City were restricted to high and wide shots from range.
© Imago
Timber, Havertz set unwanted Premier League passing record
Arsenal's valiant second-half efforts were ultimately not enough for maximum points, though, as in the eighth minute of second-half injury time, John Stones bundled in City's latest equaliser on record in the Premier League.
Two slices of undesirable history were earned by Havertz and Timber, though, as neither man completed a single pass during the four-goal stalemate, as the German failed with five attempts and the Dutchman misplaced six balls.
Havertz and Timber have therefore become the first players in the Premier League to play 89+ minutes of a match and fail to complete a single pass to a teammate, although that is only from when data became available in 2003-04.
Timber has become accustomed to playing as a left-back for Arsenal since recovering from his ACL injury, but the Dutchman started on the right-hand side at the Etihad as goalscorer Calafiori made his full Premier League debut on the left.
Ben White was dropped from the XI altogether as a result, and Arteta confirmed after the stalemate with the champions that the Englishman's demotion was due to fitness reasons, and he had hope not to bring him on at all before Trossard's controversial red forced his hand.
Arteta reveals White fitness concern after City draw
© Imago
"I spoke to Ben yesterday, I wanted to protect him and he's not going to ever tell you that he's not fit," the 42-year-old told reporters in his post-game press conference.
"He will run through a brick wall for you and the intention was to try not to use him today, but we had to and I'm very grateful because he performed very well."
Arsenal now have two full days to recover before they host Bolton Wanderers in their first EFL Cup game of the season, which Trossard will miss through suspension as he serves his one-game ban.
Arteta was quintessentially cryptic when asked about the Belgian's sending-off, which was identical in nature to Rice's dismissal against Brighton & Hove Albion for delaying the restart.
No Data Analysis info
