Context...

The life of a football supporter is full of ups and downs. Of moments of joy and insecurity. And of course of Schadenfreude. And the weekend just gone has been a microcosm of that for Arsenal supporters. The team have ended the week one further point ahead of the chasing pack, but if you read or listen to some fans it's probably the end of the world. 

All this hs to be taken in context. So let's examine matters in the cold light of day.

Let's start by taking a look at Arsenal's 'rivals' for the title. And we're down to just two of those - if that... 

No better place to start than the Manchester derby, which saw what can only be described as a genuine NMB (New Manager Bounce for the uninitiated) from United. All of which does mean that questions need to be asked firstly of the newly-departed Ruben Amorim, and also of the players. From Arsenal's point of view, it was a great watch on Saturday lunchtime as City were made to look pedestrian for much of the game, as the returning Bruno Fernandes (from injury), Mbuemo and Amad (from AFCON), and a reversion to a back 4 tore into City's injury-riddled defence at every opportunity. Despite the return of Rodri, City had no answer, and were possibly lucky to come away with just a 2-0 defeat.

The two main things I'm taking out of that game are firstly that teams can see that City can be got at, and so hopefully they will do so from here on in. There's no denying their range of attacking talent, but they're in a bit of a mess defensively. Even the imminent signing of Marc Guehi cannot be enough to sort that out; and when even the great Rodri is overrun in transition in central midfield, there is a massive issue there. Plus - lest you forget - this is not the City side of two, three, four years ago. 

Secondly, that United's next game is Arsenal away on Sunday; so what looked likely to be a stroll in the park for The Gunners is now likely to be considerably less so. Which may have repercussions on Arteta's midweek team selection (a matter to which I will return later on).

As regards Arsenal's other closest pursuers, Aston Villa... well, they certainly blew an opportunity on Sunday afternoon as they went down to a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Everton. How they lost that game, I honestly have no idea, as the away side rode their luck and the excellent form of Jordan Pickford. Between the other set of goalposts, Emi Martinez made yet another mistake which led to the decisive goal; surely this is his last season in the Premier League. With Liverpool - trailing well behind in any case - failing to win at home to Burnley this really wasn't the terrible weekend that some are describing a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest as meaning.

Before I discuss that, I think it's time to quickly talk about a subject from which I've kept away recently, as it's so insignificant in the world of Arsenal supporters. But it's time, I think... so here we go.

Tottenham Hotspur. They're cr*p; and that is all. To contrive to lose at home to the team on the worst run of form in the division on Sunday was quite a feat. And don't we just love it?!? Dr Tottenham. Banter FC. and - as Arsenal's away support have been keen to remind us: "Arsenal fans are on a bender. Thomas Frank's a Silver Member!" 

But on to far more important matters; the main talking points from Saturday evening's drab draw in Nottingham.

Firstly, team selection. And in the continued absence of both Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie Arteta once again opted to switch Jurrien Timber to left back. Whilst the Dutchman can do a job there, it's not his best position, and his presence does upset the attacking equilibrium on that side of the field. The alternative, MLS, isn't really a full back - but he has plenty of excellent attributes even if he hasn't been able to kick on this season, and I would imagine that both he and Ethan Nwaneri are somewhat bemused by their lack of game time this season as compared to last. Up front, Arteta opted to rest both Saka and Trossard, and stuck with Big Vik at the pointy end of the field.

The thing is... nobody - and I include Mikel Arteta in this - knows what the "Life Or Death, If It Was The Champions League Final" starting XI is. We can probably all nail down 7 slots, but the rest are conceivably up for grabs, and the key to becoming a fluid unit is to find the combinations of players who work best together. On Saturday, a left hand side of Timber and Martinelli was below par. On the right, Madueke - for all his positive attributes - is quite possibly just as difficult for his team-mates to read as it is us supporters. 

Behind him, the choice between Timber and White is not as cut and dried as we might think; Timber is undoubtably the better defender, but White's attacking link-up play is on another level to the Dutchman's, and Benny Blanco has an excellent on-field relationship with Odegaard and Saka. And the jury remains out on Viktor Gyokeres; but the alternatives to the Swede are not clear cut. Does Jesus really give us what we need? When will Havertz be fit enough to start making a meaningful contribution? Would it be a backward step to go back to Merino? And so for me, on Saturday, there was something of a disconnect in some parts of the field; leading to a consequent lack of fluidity going forward.

Don't be fooled by Forest's position in the table. They were able to field their strongest team of the season on Saturday; and that was a side that almost qualified for the Champions League last season. They are defensively strong, have a powerful midfield and dangerous wingers and under Dyche are well-organised and well-motivated. But for all that - and for the second league game in a row! - Arsenal prevented their opponent from getting a single shot on target. Although despite that amazing statistic Arsenal have taken just a point apiece from those two games. 

The problem is quite clearly further forward. And some of the statistics are pretty damning for Arsenal's attackers. One goal - a penalty - and zero assists in his last 10 PL matches. Jesus 1/0 in his last 8. Madueke no goals or assists in his last 24 PL matches! Martinelli 1/0 in 19. Saka 0/2 in 8. Trossard 1/0 in 7. Odegaard 1/3 in 16. Thank goodness for our secret weapon, Own Goal. And for being Set Piece FC.

It's up to Arteta to find the key; the correct formula. And when he does Arsenal will really cook! But he has to get his team selection right. What I would add is that despite those statisitcs Arsenal are 7 points clear at the top, and have maximum Champions League points so far. But - as a caveat - I believe that despite the size of the squad there is an element of fatigue in the players' legs. It has been a very intense month, and the treadmill doesn't stop. 

Since December 3rd Arsenal have played  Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, Saturday, (a whole week's break!) Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday; and before the end of this month they are faced with Tuesday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday. 17 matches in the space of 59 days - a match every three and a half days on average. No wonder the quality of football has dropped.

That's not to suggest that they didn't have enough decent opportunities to win Saturday's game. Martinelli missed a virtual 'sitter'. Gyokeres broke following a Forest attack but couldn't quite shake off Murillo, neither Gyokeres nor Rice could quite meet a clever cross from Ben White, and the latter also missed a decent opportunity on the volley from 18 yards. Zubimendi shot across goal. Saka had a header brilliantly tipped away by Sels. Jesus almost converted a Zubimendi header into a goal. A Merino header just missed the target. 

And then there was that penalty incident. For me, Aina makes a sweeping movement with his hand to prevent the ball going out for a corner. There were extenuating circumstances, but any manager is going to be disappointed not to have that given.

On another day, one of those chances gets taken, and the conversation is different. But Arsenal need to create better chances, and be more clinical. There is little to concern us at the other end of the field, but a few those chances need to start going in. And I can absolutely assure you that nobody is more disappointed about failing to win these successive matches than the players themselves - Declan Rice has been widely recorded as being extremely annoyed about matters.

Meanwhile, for all the moaning from certain quarters, the gap is 7 points. Pretty healthy by any standards, and it's merely a matter of matching City's results in the 16 games that remain. If you're not feeling positive about Arsenal's title chances, that's completely down to you.

Just a quick mention regarding Wednesday's semi-final at Stamford Bridge; which as usual I'm not going to cover in any depth. A 3-2 win and a lead to bring home next week is OK, but Arsenal should frankly have been out of sight. Chelsea scored twice from an xG of 0.65, and that's pretty irritating. We ought to have enough to see it through and get to Wembley.

Meantime, there are two massive games this week. But Inter away in the Champions League pales into insignificance compared to Manchester United at home on Sunday. So if I'm Mikel Arteta I'm rotating quite heavily for Inter - Arsenal are in an extremely strong position in the group stages, and have the worst team in the competition at home to round off the qualifying. They can actually afford to lose to Inter, in fact. I want to see White, MLS, the returning Mosquera, Norgaard, Merino, Eze, Madueke and Martinelli all starting in Italy. And maybe Havertz too. Let's hope that these are the type of thoughts that Mikel is having. Because Manchester United MUST be vanquished on Sunday.

Keep the faith. COYG!