Andree Jeglertz got the tattoo. Few at Manchester City actually believed their head coach would go through with it. But there was Jeglertz in July, flashing his left forearm in the training ground canteen, City's title-winning mantra "We Will Find A Way To Win" now unambiguous and shamelessly flesh.

The thing about tattoos is that, at some point between not having one and having one, a kind of unwavering certainty takes over, an iron-clad faith that nothing else is worth believing in save the carving of this specific ink into this specific patch of dermis.

And maybe it is a step too far, potentially insensitive. Put your belief away, Andree, before you make others uncomfortable.

In a related development, which is the necessary starting point for any conversation about Arsenal in the hours after their 4-2 defeat to Manchester City, a loss which leaves Arsenal with just two wins in seven matches across all competitions, one win in five WSL matches and 10 points adrift of defending champions City.

The discomfort of a squad in the face of pure, unadulterated belief.

It can seem like a cop-out suggesting that Arsenal's lowest points total after five matches since 2014 — a league title all but flouted, a defeat during which Arsenal boasted more possession, more shots, more shots on target, more passes, more touches in the opposition box and better xG for more than an hour — all boils down to something as flimsy and ineffable as belief.

Furthermore, of course, the thing about belief is that it is rooted in solidly effable tangibles: in systems, processes, tactics, recruitment, substitutions, strategies, precedent.

Arsenal, in theory, should be the ones to find power here. Yet, it was City once more summoning authority to edge them over the margins. Arsenal, meanwhile, are set for another comprehensive review analysing "not only what we see on matchday but everything in the background — training programme, everything," Slegers remarked post-match. "We have to turn over every stone to ensure that players are performing their best."

What constitutes Arsenal at their best poses myriad questions. Is it a team which plays right-back Ona Batlle on the actual right? Or has Alessia Russo scoring more than one goal in five league matches? Or remember why they signed Geraldine Reuteler? Or is it simply being a team like City, surging with belief to win?

Additionally, city's 4-2 win represented the second time in three league matches this season that Jeglertz's side came back from losing positions to claim all three points, having defeated Liverpool by the same scoreline two weeks earlier.

Across all competitions, City have claimed eight points from losing positions in four of their past five matches. Since Jeglertz's appointment last season, City have scored 25 goals in the final 20 minutes of WSL matches, almost half of the number (53) they have scored in the first 70 minutes of matches.

Once again, City found positive influence from substitutions. The arrivals of Kerstin Casparij, Mary Fowler and Iman Beney in the 62nd minute altered momentum immediately, with Casparij restoring parity with her first touch of the match following an exquisite long-range effort. Two minutes after Laura Blindkilde Brown replaced Sam Coffey in the 70th minute, City grabbed their third, with Blindkilde Brown instrumental in the build-up.

It is worth noting that "It's my job to make sure that they understand we still need them," Jeglertz expressed when asked about how, repeatedly, his substitutions affect outcomes. Throughout the season, Jeglertz has called on his bench between the 60th and 63rd minute, timings which Jeglertz owes simultaneously to "my own feeling" and a years-long understanding that "if you want to have a real impact, normally they need 25 to 30 minutes to do that".

The ease with which Jeglertz assesses the above is notable given the head-scratching bafflement beleaguering plenty of inside and outside Arsenal. Much of Arsenal's Sunday performance wasn't that of a team marooned 10th in the table. Arsenal's press was strong. City were repeatedly forced into errors in their own third. Arsenal created good chances. Winger Lisa Baum repeatedly tore through City full-back Niamh Charles.

Yet, there's an irony that City's squad, swathed in doubts of depth ahead of their return to European football, looked so fresh and positive from the bench compared to that of Arsenal's, a squad so substantial that Slegers has resorted to lobbying UEFA to expand the allotted squad sizes so she can have full access to its depth.