Yesterday Moyes' side picked itself. He had just two fit central midfielders to choose from and Joseph Yobo started in the centre of defence, despite having not trained all week.
His presence was essential against the Gunners' searing pace. And he was the best player in blue.
The side tried to rattle their visitors in the opening minutes. Nobody could doubt their effort or their endeavour. But that was not good enough - not by a long way..
It was Arsenal's class which stood out. After eight minutes they had forced four corners, and inside 25 they had taken the lead and threatened to add to it.
The outcome was depressingly obvious long before Mike Riley gave the Blues a welcome break by blowing the half-time whistle.
The second 45 minutes merely confirmed the magnitude of the defeat.
In this fixture two years ago a 16-year-old dramatically unveiled himself to the footballing world with a goal of sublime quality. Yesterday, another teenager was equally impressive. But this time, he wasn't wearing blue.
Patrick Vieira's decision to turn down the chance to move to Real Madrid was seen by many observers as the key to Arsenal's title defence.
Without him, a Spanish 17-year-old by the name of Francesc Fabregas was given the opportunity to prowl central midfield. And for an hour, he ran the show.
But for a superb point blank save by Nigel Martyn, he would have capped the performance with a goal.
Instead, it was left to the more established stars to secure an embarassingly emphatic victory.
Dennis Bergkamp thumped home after good work by Thierry Henry and Jose Reyes in the 23rd minute. Reyes headed in himself six minutes before the break, and the procession continued nine minutes after when Freddie Ljungberg tapped in after more Henry magic.
The fourth was smashed in by Robert Pires eight minutes from time after Henry and Ashley Cole had both been denied.
The way the Gunners tore through the Everton defence was frightening, and confirmed what many Blues had suspected after watching some of the horrific defensive displays of pre-season.
In those games, there was the fillip of some decent attacking play. Yesterday, there simply wasn't the time or the space to reproduce that football.
Leon Osman was a bright spot, showing good vision and some neat touches on the right flank, particularly during the opening 45 minutes.
On this evidence, this will be the season he establishes himself as a Premiership player.
But too many of his team-mates, who have been present in the top flight for a long time, looked jaded and past their best.
The side was worn out well before the end, having spent much of the afternoon chasing shadows.
At least there was the ubiquitous consolation goal, netted by Lee Carsley 26 minutes from the end, after being fed in by the side's other follickly challenged midfield man - Thomas Gravesen..
That strike ensured that it was not the heaviest defeat of the weekend. But already the Blues are where many pundits predicted they would be this season - in the relegation zone.
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