WHEN Danny Welbeck collected Alexis Sanchez's deft pass and calmly stroked a side-foot finish past Eldin Jakupovic in the first minute of stoppage time, the cameras captured Steve Bruce with the same pained expression he had worn at Wembley five months earlier.
Just as Hull City had failed to hang on to an advantage against the Gunners in the FA Cup final on May 17, the same happened again upon their return to North London.
Only this time it felt different. Arsenal's class might have told with poise amid the panic of injury time, snatching victory from the grasp of their disciplined guests, but the Tigers had something to show for their gallantry this time around.
Asked which of Arsenal's comebacks felt worse, the City boss had no hesitation: "Oh definitely the FA Cup final. No question."
And that was because the Tigers had just earned as good a point as they may earn all season.
For the first time since their return to the Premier League 15 months ago, City had travelled to one of the Premier League's big hitters and left with a point.
It could have been all three without Welbeck's late equaliser but complaints were minimal from a proud boss.
City have come a long way during Bruce's reign and this was another bold yardstick.
City no longer feel like a short-stay visitor in the top flight and even allowing for Arsenal's undoubted quality this was no longer the upset it once might have been.
In eight Premier League games this term, City have only been beaten twice now.
Four draws, when leads were surrendered on each occasion, have made moves up the table slow, but Bruce's men are improving all the time.
None more so than in attack. Only Everton and the current top four have scored more goals than City and their current tally of 13 was not surpassed until December 21 last season.
Key to that were two deadline day buys back on the mark at the Emirates.
Mohamed Diame, scorer of an equaliser that combined brute force and elegance, notched his fourth goal in five games, while Abel Hernandez, innocuous but predatory, made it three since his £10m move from Palermo.
Since the summer window closed with a flurry of late activity, it is 12 goals in six games for a City side once known more for its attacking faults.
If only the Tigers still had that defensive steel.
Had leads been protected in the way they often were last season, City could be second behind only Chelsea.
Bruce shook his head in disbelief at that reality on Saturday evening.
At least a fourth draw of the campaign also saw the Tigers stage their own comeback, a prospect that appeared most unlikely 15 minutes in.
With top scorer Nikica Jelavic watching from the bench on crutches after twisting his knee in the warm-up, City appeared destined for an uncomfortable afternoon once Arsenal burst out of the blocks. Steve Harper kept out Welbeck and Sanchez before turning behind Santi Cazorla's curling shot from distance, but the Tigers were undone by Arsenal's £35m signing from Barcelona.
Sanchez had Curtis Davies dizzy with an incisive run into the penalty box and capped it all with a sweet low finish beyond Harper.
A procession was promised but was soon ruined by Diame.
Without support he opted to go it alone with a rare City break and when hitting the ball beyond the Arsenal defence, tugging back Mathieu Flamini and finishing with a cute finish over Wojciech Szczesny, the midfielder's hot streak remained at boiling point.
A wonderful piece of individual skill?
"An individual piece of grappling," replied a chuckling Bruce. "We got away with one there."
The important part was that City made the most of it. Breath lost in the opening quarter of an hour was caught and falling back into a compact shape, the Tigers became a far tougher nut for Arsenal to crack.
It still wasn't straightforward when Harper was lost to a bicep injury late in the first half, replaced by Jakupovic, but the Emirates fell silent just 32 seconds after the break.
Before most of the corporate masses had taken their padded seats, City had scored a sweet goal that involved 14 passes direct from kick-off and without Arsenal touching the ball once.
Moving out play to Tom Huddlestone on the right wing, a perfect cross was sent into the penalty box. Hernandez out-jumped World Cup winner Per Mertesacker and nodded low past Szczesny with perhaps his only meaningful contribution of the game.
With that, City were back on familiar ground.
A 2-1 scoreline was held for 54 minutes at Wembley before Arsenal eventually forced extra-time in the FA Cup final and again they fell agonisingly short.
Arsenal's dominance of possession at the Emirates, 67 per cent to be exact, counted for little when running against a brick wall built by the outstanding Michael Dawson, Curtis Davies and James Chester.
Tempers frayed on the terraces but Jakupovic was oddly underworked.
All until the final stages.
Sanchez's header was tipped over by the Tigers' third-choice keeper and then the forward's trickery brought reward.
Skipping inside three City men and picking out Welbeck in a pocket of space, Sanchez teed up the man Bruce tried to sign from Manchester United this summer for a composed right-foot finish.
That same look of deflation was etched all over Bruce's face and could have got worse if Arsenal's stoppage-time pressure had brought a winner. There was no extra-time on this occasion, though, and a 2-2 draw left only one manager happy.
However, it came at a cost with Jelavic, Harper and Dawson all forecast to miss the trip to Liverpool this weekend.
Still, a tenth point of the season was celebrated all the way back to East Yorkshire by 2,500 happy followers.
Philip Buckingham's verdict Hull City let a Premier League lead slip for the fourth time this season but, unlike the draws with Stoke, West Ham and Newcastle, the disappointment belonged more to their opponents Arsenal. The Tigers gave their last breaths to keep Arsene Wenger's men at bay, but Danny Welbeck's stoppage-time equaliser denied them a repeat of their 2008 win at the Emirates Stadium. The goals of Mohamed Diame and Abel Hernandez cancelled out Alexis Sanchez's opener and ensured the late drama did not leave City empty-handed as it had in the FA Cup final. Steve Bruce's men may not earn a better point away from home all season and confidence will be high for this weekend's trip to Liverpool.