Arsenal enjoyed scenes of great anticipation as they departed for their match against Aston Villa, but 90 minutes later the Premier League title race was set to take a potentially crucial turn with empty red seats. I got to see the sea.
Liverpool initially stumbled with a shock defeat at home to Crystal Palace, but after Mikel Arteta's side lost 2-0 to Villa, Arsenal supporters, at least those who left, were at Anfield. I left the Emirates Stadium just as dumbfounded as the fans.
With just two points separating the top three, their title chase is far from over, but there is an eerily nostalgic feel to seeing Manchester City at the top of the table when the pressure valve is tightened.
What's so frustrating for Arsenal and Liverpool is that they both caused their own downfall by performing desperately poorly when they needed a win the most.
When it got hot, both of us lost our energy.
The big question now is whether Arsenal and Liverpool can fight back from such a brutal blow, or whether the title momentum has changed decisively in Manchester City's favor.
Things were very different before Sunday's second-half kick-off, with Arsenal given a huge chance to reassert their authority at the top of the table.
Arsenal supporters are back at the Emirates, buoyed by the favor given to them by Palace after a draw with Manchester United and heavy defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals at Anfield, ending a disastrous week for Liverpool. We gathered.
Liverpool, who lost 1-0 to Palace, were long-legged, lacking their usual intensity and, having spent their energy chasing four trophies, showed signs of running out of gas, at least for a time.
However, the hopes sparked by Liverpool's defeat actually seemed to backfire on Arsenal, with nerves running through the Emirates twice early when an early breakthrough failed to materialize. .
The noise at times gave off a whiff of hopelessness, of fear that old mistakes would return to a team that was relentlessly cornered by City last season.
They did it.
As we have seen this season, City are good at applying pressure, but even they could not have predicted that Liverpool and Arsenal would struggle in home games on the same day.
Pep Guardiola and his City players would have sat back with their feet up and enjoyed an ideal Sunday. We won 5-1 against Luton. The day before that, he had seen Arsenal and Liverpool collapse in their own half.
Liverpool have finally paid the price for standing on the cliff too often this season.
Ebelesi Eze's goal was the 14th time he has conceded the lead in the Premier League this season, including four times in the last five league games at Anfield.
They were pushing their luck, believing they could come back at any time. In the end they couldn't escape it and this was the day.
It means the Kop's dreams of bidding farewell to Jurgen Klopp with the title have moved away in what has been a terrifying week for Liverpool – there is still time for a new twist in the story. Yes, but…
A further concern for Klopp is that one of his biggest threats has suddenly become insensitive at the worst possible time, having scored just two goals in the last three games.
Can Klopp be energized and inspired one last time towards glorious prosperity? It will be a strong challenge in his final days at Anfield.
Arsenal's performance showed all the characteristics of a side that is under pressure to deliver after suffering their first league defeat since losing 2-1 to Fulham on New Year's Eve.
They lacked their usual sharpness and the defensive fragility they showed in the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich was once again on display, with Gabriel particularly shaky.
It's been a long time since Arsenal looked this nervous and erratic for so long. The only surprise was that it took Villa until the final 10 minutes of regular time to score the goal they deserved.
Was he nervous? Was it the pressure? It certainly looked like that.
It was a welcome win for Villa manager Unai Emery after he was sacked by Arsenal in November 2019 after just a year and a half in charge.
More importantly for him, this result increases Villa's chances of finishing in the top four and qualifying for next season's Champions League. Emery did a great job.
When Ollie Watkins added to Leon Bailey's opener, hope was lost among Arsenal supporters and thousands headed for the exits, clearly not believing in the comeback.
Arsenal's players looked leggy and exhausted for much of the second half and were exhausted by the end.
Arteta said the first half's performance was better than it was – decent, but not as good as he claimed – but the second half was hard to argue with.
The Gunners looked tense as their hopes of victory slipped away, but Villa, led by the brilliant John McGinn and Diego Carlos, were understandably unable to pick up a point.
Will we look back on this day as the day that changed the course of the Premier League title? When did Manchester City's relentlessness finally take its toll on Arsenal and Liverpool?
Time will tell, but if this long-running Premier League season does not reach a familiar conclusion, Arsenal and Liverpool will find new energy and hope to perform several levels above this one. You will need to perform.