AS Arsenal strode off the pitch having dismantled Aston Villa, chests puffed out and fists raised in the air, they looked like champions in waiting.
The first half was cagey and Villa were, if anything, the better side.
But the injury to Amadou Onana, and a scrappy goal for Gabriel early in the second half, changed everything.
They were rampant after that, and the 4-1 demolition of a red-hot rival was undoubtedly Arsenal’s finest 45- minute performance of the season.
Tuesday’s result confirmed deep down what we already knew — this is a two-horse title race between the Gooners and Manchester City.
Yet with City’s 0-0 draw at Sunderland leaving them second by four points, there are questions over whether even they can keep pace.
This does not feel like a vintage, dominant Pep Guardiola side — very dangerous but with vulnerabilities.
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So if Arsenal can’t get over the line this year, it will be their biggest bottle job yet. And they have had a few under Mikel Arteta.
Of course, the scars of the capitulation in the final six weeks of the 2022-23 season still run deep for many Gunners fans.
They held an eight-point lead over City, who admittedly had a game in hand, heading into April.
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But they limped down the final stretch, dropping points at home to struggling Southampton and blowing a 2-0 lead at West Ham as they scraped together just three wins in their last nine games.
It was an all-time meltdown, and right in the middle of that terrible loss of form was a 4-1 hammering at the Etihad when they crumbled in front of our eyes.
The entire Arsenal side looked like they were suffering from impostor syndrome that day — as if they didn’t believe they belonged on the same pitch as that City side.
It’s harder to criticise their performance the following season given they racked up 89 points.
They lost top spot in April 2024 after their no-show in a crucial game at home to Aston Villa and weren’t able to recover.
But let’s put their 2023 bottling into context.
They were still something of a surprise package, a relatively young side who had nothing like the title run-in experience of serial winners City. This year, it’s different.
Arteta has never had a deeper squad, with top-class strength in depth in pretty much every position on the pitch.
Well, except for centre-forward.
Gabriel Jesus has been back from injury for five minutes and has already posed more of a threat than summer signing Viktor Gyokeres in the last five months.
Declan Rice is in the form of his life, Martin Zubimendi has added guile and steadiness in the middle of the park and Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard are lethal out wide.
When they’re all healthy at the same time, the back four are arguably the most solid in the world, and they have a top stopper in David Raya.
The core of this current squad have been together for several seasons and, while they’ve had a few shaky moments, the air of confidence is stronger than ever.
They look more resilient and well-equipped to cope with the pressure of a title race.
The players have been taught some brutal lessons over the last few years, as has Arteta, but it appears they have learned and are ready to rise to the challenge.
So for this squad and Arteta, it’s now or never, time to put up or shut up.
Liverpool are already out of it, Villa aren’t good enough and Chelsea and Manchester United can’t get out of their own way.
If Arsenal can’t see off City this year, it will be worse than the collapse of 2023.
Is Ant a Philler?
ANTOINE SEMENYO might be making a mistake in joining Manchester City.
He is about to go from guaranteed playing time as Bournemouth’s main man to becoming another cog in the gigantic Guardiola machine with intense competition for a starting spot.
The Prem’s big dogs have made a habit in recent years of stockpiling players when they don’t need them — to prevent other clubs from signing them as much as anything.
Semenyo is a wonderful player and the lure of City is understandably impossible to turn down.
Let’s hope for his sake that he doesn’t become another Jack Grealish or, dare I say it, Kalvin Phillips.
Dyche in for heat
THE honeymoon period is well and truly over for Sean Dyche.
Nottingham Forest have now lost three in a row and could possibly have played all night without scoring against Everton.
They have lots of talent in the squad but lack a cutting edge without the injured Chris Wood up top.
Next week’s crunch match at West Ham is looking absolutely huge.
Lose that and Forest will be deep in trouble.
And owner Evangelos Marinakis has shown he won’t hesitate to pull the trigger if he is not happy with results.
No Gold standard
WE thought the racing feast over Christmas would give us some clarity as regards the Cheltenham Festival — but the picture is as clear as muck.
For the first time in years, the Gold Cup is wide open after reigning champ Inothewayurthinkin and dual winner Galopin Des Champs were both beaten in Ireland.
Dan Skelton’s favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Mydaddypaddy, was turned over at Aintree, while Willie Mullins star Majborough was again disappointing.
Amid all the chaos, one horse in particular looks overpriced for Cheltenham after an impressive Kempton win.
Mambonumberfive should not be 25-1 for the Arkle.