IVAN TONEY reprised his role as a pantomime villain to throw the title race wide open.
Now that Troy Deeney is no longer plying his trade in the Premier League, Toney has emerged as the player Arsenal fans hate more than any other.
They have never forgiven the Brentford striker for his "nice kickabout with the boys" social media post after Arsenal had been battered into submission on the opening day of last season.
And now they have even more reason to dislike the controversial center-forward after his 74th-minute equalizer handed Manchester City the opportunity to cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to just three points.
And with Pep Guardiola’s champions due at the Emirates on Wednesday night, Arsenal’s sudden loss of form could not have come at a worse time for boss Mikel Arteta.
The table-topping Gunners thought they had done enough to keep themselves on track when Leandro Trossard climbed off the bench to fire them into a 67th-minute lead.
But that lead only lasted for seven minutes before a game of head tennis in Aaron Ramsdale’s six-yard box ended with Toney nodding in from close range.
It means Arsenal have failed to win any of their last three games and is suddenly starting to look as though they might be running out of steam.
Arteta has selected the same team so many times this season that he must be able to do it with his eyes closed by now.
Seven of his players have started every Premier League game this season and skipper Martin Odegaard has only missed one.
But Brentford simply refused to accept their fate and the more Arsenal were pushed back into their area, the less convincing they looked.
So it was almost inevitable when Toney stuck in the knife before celebrating by holding up a shirt with the message "we are all with you Sergi" for team-mate Sergi Canos, whose mother recently passed away.
