With all the hubbub surrounding our win against Burnley, followed by the hope killed by another Chelski scabbing of three points at the hands of a goalkeeper, I haven’t even thought about the defeat of the Spuds to an Aston Villa team managed by Mr Gilet and all-round footballing genius Tim Sherwood. Super Timmy’s charges have – with that victory – bought us to within two wins and a draw of St Totteringham’s Day. It would be nice to celebrate it with a few games to go this year. 

I am of course trying to be positive in light of the fact that Chelski will almost certainly be winning the league now. That’s two weekend’s in a row in which they’ve been gifted points and you just have to accept that sometimes the footballing gods smile down on teams. I can understand it. After all, this is a team that has worked so hard to get in to the position they are in over the years, being self sufficient, having good and honest players, as well as a very likeable manager who everyone appreciates. Oh, no, wait a second, they are none of those things, they are in fact the antithesis of a team who should be granted fortune. Ever. They should have had all of their fortune quota used up when they skanked their way all the way to the Champions League trophy. Thank you very much footballing gods. Thanks a bunch. 

Anyway, it’s probably best if I pretend that the whole ‘Chelski winning the league’ thing isn’t happening, just focusing on our form. Our form in which I hope is being prepared as a prologue to an amazing 2015/16 season. That’s what happened in 2002/3 after the league title had gone. It felt like we had to start again from scratch and rebuild confidence and momentum and it was those games towards the end of that season that begun our fantastic 49 unbeaten game run. I am hoping that this rich vein of form we’re in at the moment is our precursor to glorious things next season. 

It feels that way at the moment, anyway, especially when you look at the squad. Arsène feels it too, you can tell from some of his words. After he was interviewed post-Burnley, he spoke about having to leaving players like Arteta at home and Debuchy not even being given a try yet, so as we draw to the end of this season he must be looking at his squad and thinking that we’re almost there. A few tightening of a couple of loose screws and we’ll be purring like a V8. 

Everything is working well at the moment, even the stuff that people have questioned the manager on historically, like Rambo in the attacking positions. I mentioned it yesterday, but nobody is batting an eyelid at the fact that he is in a position in which Arsène has been chastised for playing him in. I am guilty of said criticism too, so I certainly can’t hold myself exempt from any tutting and shaking of heads, but what it does show is that it doesn’t really matter if some players are played in a position which is not regarded their optimum. There just needs to be enough confidence in the team to play their swaggerific best. Longer term it may not be ideal, but you do get the feeling that Arsène is playing players who are in the purplest of purple patches, in the shape of Cazorla, Özil and Ramsey. None of them deserve any time on the bench and as a result, Arsène is finding a way to accommodate which to be fair, as long as their confidence is as sky high as it is at the moment, I don’t think anyone has a problem with, so I do think he’ll continue with this same XI next weekend. It’s too early to be getting excited about that just yet, so I’ll hold fire on pre-FA Cup semi tickets until later in the week.

So that’ll be it for now. Have at a good Monday.