At the final whistle Pep Guardiola and Eddie Howe almost fell into each other’s arms in an unusually protracted and warm embrace.

After the Manchester City manager’s talk of “now we war” with Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta and his Newcastle counterpart’s own only recently ended cold war with the club’s sporting director, Paul Mitchell, it was almost reassuring to see the pair exchanging broad smiles as they whispered in each other’s ears.