The fixture list asked difficult questions of new Arsenal head coach Unai Emery before a ball was even kicked.

Champions Manchester City at home followed by Chelsea away for his opening two Premier League games was an immediate test of whether the Spaniard would commit on day one to an attacking style, playing out from the back.

Some in his position would have opted for pragmatism but Emery stood firm — and watched as City picked them off before a calamitous match at Stamford Bridge saw the best and worst of his approach as the Gunners ended up on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller.

Results against the top six have improved a little since — most notably when beating Chelsea just under a fortnight ago — but they have conceded 15 in seven matches against those teams.

Liverpool ran riot at Anfield in December and Sunday’s trip to Etihad Stadium represents another examination of Emery’s methodology: does he insist Arsenal start on the front foot to exploit any hangover from City’s midweek defeat at Newcastle or shore up a porous backline against the most potent attack in the division?

Writing in his programme notes for Tuesday’s game against Cardiff, Emery made it clear that despite five League defeats and the concession of 33 goals, he remains largely uncompromising in his beliefs.

“Our challenge every day, every match, is to take a better balance in the attacking and defensive moments,” he explained. “We are scoring a lot — that’s a good statistic — but we are conceding a lot more than we want. I want to win and if we can score a lot, it’s better.

“If we concede one goal because we are attacking and also pushing a lot, I prefer it like that. But every match we are working, between us, we need a clean sheet and we need also this balance to be better.

“The first idea in our mind is to win. We need to be winning our way but we also need to be patient at times.”

Pep Guardiola’s side scored three times in each of their trio of encounters last season — including the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley — and Arsenal have won only once at City in their past seven visits, a 2-0 victory in January 2015 which was widely hailed at the time as a welcome change from Arsene Wenger’s often alarmingly open approach.

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It ultimately proved a red herring. Arsenal have habitually struggled to find the balance Emery speaks of — Manchester United’s FA Cup win last week was a throwback to the days of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and others running riot on the counter-attack — and while their away form has improved somewhat this season, they remain vulnerable at the back.

Recent defeats at Southampton and West Ham hinted at a fragility that makes Sunday’s game a daunting prospect but Arsenal’s hopes of imposing themselves are at least boosted by the arrival of Denis Suarez on loan from Barcelona. Suarez has predominantly played as a central midfielder but Emery repeatedly stressed he was looking for two “wingers who can play left and right” during last month’s transfer window — he used the 25-year-old on the flanks during their season together at Sevilla in 2014-15.

The Spaniard has employed a variety of systems and of late seemingly settled on a back four with a midfield diamond — successful against Chelsea but not at home to United — before abandoning that formation at half-time against Cardiff on Tuesday in favour of a 4-2-3-1 shape.

Suarez could slot into either system should Emery decide against switching to a back three; he will have Laurent Koscielny to call on after the centre-back resumed full training following a facial injury sustained against United.

Whatever the shape, Emery seems likely to demand his players do not modify their mindset. Yet City can push any team back, particularly if they dominate the ball effectively as is so often the case and playing out from the back can invite pressure higher up the pitch and cause problems if accompanied by a lack of composure. It looks on paper to be high risk.

The recent win over Chelsea was seen as a validation of Emery’s management, quietening dissenters muttering in the background at several disappointing displays. But getting a positive result at City on his own terms would be something else entirely.