I reckon that Wednesday's game really struck an important psychological blow in our favour. Most neutrals seem to reckon it's done now, even though there's still quite a bit of football to be played, but looking at the internet a lot of their fans do as well. That was borne out for me yesterday when I spoke to two good friends, both Arsenal fans (who don't know one another), and I'd be surprised if their players don't think so as well, even though they won't admit it in public.
After their defeat to us in February, they put together a run of wins that really led them (IMO both within the club and among the fans) to believe they had a great chance of claiming the title. The three draws they had immediately prior to this week's match punctured that belief somewhat, but if they'd come and taken even a point from us, that would have given them renewed hope. Instead we not only beat but actually battered them, and they know it.
We now play again, at Fulham, before their next game. If we win, we put even more pressure on them when they face Chelsea on Tuesday, a game which on current form you'd think they really should win. Then we play twice more, against West Ham and Leeds, before their subsequent fixture. As I posted on Tuesday, four victories for us before the Real tie could see them go to Newcastle on 7 May with a four-point deficit and really needing to win. Well, now we have one down, three to go.
So come on Blues. Let's be ruthless and really put Arsenal under pressure in the coming fixtures. Unfortunately, after beating them at their place in February, we dropped points at Forest in our next outing (even though we played quite well in general, I thought, and it was simply a case of missed chances). Anyway, let's have no slip-ups this time!