9 points...

Chelsea have today drawn against their bogey team of this season, Man. City, and as a result, we've closed the gap to 9 points, with 12 games to go. Cause for celebration? Of course not, we're still far from it. No one's entitled to remove that champagne from the ice just yet, not us, not the Chelsea fans, and definitely not the Arsenal fans. But the draw is just a timely reminder, to Chelsea especially, that the title is not won yet, however conclusive the pundits on all the Premiership coverage programs around the world might sound.

We will ourselves be playing Man. City away next weekend, and this actually just gives them the opportunity to either really help us, or negate their influence on the destination of the Premiership title from this week. The thing is, Arsenal seemed to have returned to form after having beaten another of those perenially mediocre Premiership teams, Villa. Villa seemed to show up only at the second half, that I joked with my mate they might be having a hangover in the first half. So whether you look at it from the top or the bottom, we can't afford to slip up. Arsenal are closer to us than we are to Chelsea.

The question on everyone's lips, is this going to be the start of the so-called "blip"?? I hope so! Chelsea, in case you didn't notice (but the pundits and football writers did), only started flying when Arjen Robben arrived. And now that their Dutch winger (who's supposed to be ours but for some fudgery on Peter Kenyon's part) has had his wings clipped, albeit temporarily, does it actually signal something of a problem for them? By the way, Drogba is out as well...so! I doubt that they'll slip up as dramatically as Kevin "I love it!" Keegan's Newcastle of 1996, but...we do hope. For hope is a beautiful thing (quote Morgan Freeman in Shawshank Redemption)...