It is almost two years since Arsène Wenger was able to celebrate an away win at a major Premier League rival and victory at the Etihad could define their season

There was genuine surprise in Martin Tyler’s voice when he commentated on the moment that cemented Arsenal’s most recent signature win away from home in the Premier League. When Olivier Giroud glanced in Santi Cazorla’s arcing free-kick to confirm a 2-0 lead at the Etihad, Tyler captured the sentiment that millions of TV viewers were sharing. “Well, well, well!” he intoned. This was not the Arsenal everybody was used to watching implode when confronted by big away challenges, the Arsenal that had been walloped on their travels to elite opponents during the previous year. Suddenly, they seemed to have found the method and mettle to rise to the grandstand occasion.

All this happened in January 2015. Arsène Wenger remembers the impact it had on his team’s sense of themselves and their capabilities. “It was big for the confidence of the team because we were struggling a bit away from home in big games,” he says. “To win this game was very important for the belief of the players.”

If it felt like a turning point, subsequent events suggest that it was only a half turn. Since that Cazorla-inspired win, Arsenal have a decent record on the road in the Premier League and they have cut out the ferocious pastings. But here is the snag. They have not managed to summon another Premier League victory at the home of a major contender. It has been a story of a handful of draws and the odd narrow defeat. If you are tempted to include a handsome scoreline at the King Power in the early throes of last season, that occurred long before Leicester were anywhere close to even daring to dream of titles.

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A standout away triumph or two is a hallmark of a potential champion. A signature win, a statement win, some might grab the flavour of it better by calling it an eff-off win. Wenger is conscious of Arsenal’s need for the kind of result that sends out a blaze of intent. “Man City will tell you the same,” he says. “It’s a big game. There will be fierce intensity because both teams are in a position where they will want to respond. We must focus on what we want to do and have clarity in our heads on how we want to do it. After that we have a good chance.”

So much of that chance appears to be linked with Alexis Sánchez. Arsenal’s leading light came back from his last international with Chile supposedly nursing a fragile hamstring but he has played an inspirational part, barely taking a moment’s rest, during a spell of seven games in 21 days. His influence cannot be overstated, either in raw statistics (he has scored or assisted 27 times in his past 27 Premier League games) or in his souped-up demeanour.

“He is a leader in his way on the pitch. Because he is not scared of anybody. That’s a kind of leadership,” says Wenger. That lack of fear stands out in key games.

In many ways Wenger has never managed anyone quite like him. “He is comparable to Suárez a bit in style, but from players I had, no [comparison]. Thierry Henry was a real athlete, naturally you saw this guy was a strong man. Sánchez surprises you a little bit because of his size – you do not expect such a dynamic, strong winning attitude. It’s his game.”

Wenger’s crotchety mood in the buildup to Sunday’s game was partly down to the tension growing over the past few days, with questions about the club’s ambitions over the contract renegotiations of Sánchez and Mesut Özil striking a nerve. It also hinted at how much Arsenal were frustrated by their setback at Goodison Park on Tuesday.

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Wenger believes the nature of the reaction could be season-defining: “We had the big setback at the start of the season. We dealt with it and have to deal again with the disappointment on Tuesday night and bounce back straight away. That will decide our season.”

Despite City’s dip since their impeccable start to the campaign, Wenger is hardly expecting a breeze. Pep Guardiola’s introduction of his philosophy might be a source for debate in Premier League circles, but Wenger has first-hand experience of how his counterpart can produce teams built on an overwhelming blend of ingenuity and intensity. He regards Barcelona’s Guardiola vintage as the best team he has faced.

“I played a semi-final against Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan with Monaco in the Champions League. They were good as well. But with Arsenal we faced maybe Barcelona at its peak – at the time when Xavi was still young enough, Iniesta was coming up, Dani Alves was young. Messi was 20, 21, 22. They were all coming up with a huge hunger and desire. It was natural for them. Let’s not forget they had some team there. They had Eto’o and Henry and Ibrahimovic and Messi. Imagine what that was.”

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Recreating that blueprint in Manchester, imposing that capacity to put opponents under crushing, creative pressure, remains a work in progress, but Wenger is unmoved by the notion that Guardiola is somehow put out by the Premier League’s own brand of relentlessness.

His focus on engineering a signature win, something capable of redefining his team’s belief for the weeks ahead, dominates his thinking.