Senderos led the resistance and he could not praise his manager enough for how he helped him through a difficult time. "The hardest thing for a player is to be injured," he said. "You don't work or do your job. But all that made me stronger mentally and it is important to remember these moments. The boss kept giving me confidence. He kept telling me the whole team and the club are behind me. He was always helping me and asking how I was getting on."
Senderos paid him back - as indeed did the rest of the team. And no-one shone more than Robin van Persie. At 21, the £3million signing from Feyenoord is emerging as the heir apparent to his compatriot Dennis Bergkamp - great touch, peripheral vision and an eye for goal. Van Persie opened the scoring and City were killed off with a strike from substitute Danny Karbassiyoon, a 20-year-old American.
"The first goal was a real Arsenal goal," said Wenger reflecting on the swift and incisive passing move that lead to the strike. Even in its celebration, Arsenal's young guns showed a unity that was lacking from a lacklustre City outfit whose indifference to the occasion was epitomised by Robbie Fowler.
In one week's pay of £50,000 he earns more than six of last night's Arsenal team put together. He put in one fraction of the effort to earn it. If this is the striker after a month's intensive fitness training, heaven only knows what he was like before.
He scored the City consolation goal deep into injury time but it was never going to be more than a token effort. With Mathieu Flamini and Fabregas patrolling central midfield with ease, Arsenal were always in control and that shows just why Wenger is confident about the future of the club.
"The next generation looks very good," said Wenger. "It makes me convinced the club has a future. The scouts and the coaching staff, they are getting the good young boys in. We have concentrated on that for the last few years and now, slowly, you start to see the quality."
The result made Wenger's second trip to Manchester in four days a more pleasurable experience following the acrimonious spat at Old Trafford on Sunday. The only pizza to be seen was in the written word. A notice had been pinned on the Arsenal dressing room door saying for safety reasons, no soup or pizza allowed inside. "Of course we laughed," said Wenger. "We have a sense of humour."
Not that Keegan had much to smile about. He even had to sub the sub when Christian Negouai - a replacement for Trevor Sinclair - suffered a hamstring injury. "It never rains in Manchester but it pours," he said.
