Manchester City vs Arsenal: Did Chelsea's Victory Open the Door for Arsenal?

Arsenal play Manchester City on Sunday, a game that should test Arsenal's mettle. Prior to facing Chelsea, Manchester City had enjoyed a season record of 14 unbeaten games.

The upstart invincibility came to a screeching halt at Stamford Bridge, however. The bridge proved too high, the vertigo too unassailable. City will rue their luck; Chelsea will hail theirs. For Arsenal, could Chelsea's victory be an augury of good things in the coming duel?

Were we still in Roman times, we would know by watching the flight of birds or by looking at the entrails of animals. Alas, we're not, and no scientific instrument can help us.

Still, we can appeal to luck, and there's no better luck than your seemingly unassailable opponent getting humbled before your big fight. The lion is suddenly less fierce; the cobra coils not to strike but to slink away.

But perhaps not too fast. Isn't there a saying about a wounded lion? And is there not an ophidian wisdom about not stepping on the tail of a serpent?

Still, the chink in the armor on the hitherto dreaded giant should surely be an open door even to an underdog stripling. There's always room for the slingshot to land, you'd think.

And with a bit of luck, Arsenal may apply another humiliation—Manchester City are blaming the referee for theirs, what was clearly not a penalty. They don't agree, naturally, and according to Mancini, one of his friends saw the infringement while standing outside the stadium (!). The friend scored it a clear penalty. Well, no surprises there!

For us Arsenal fans, we can breathe a sigh of relief, our record is still intact. Oh, and did you see how miserable Samir Nasri looked on the substitute bench?

Poor lad! Exchanging the crown for gold—allegedly, we must quickly add—must come with its own grief. But not to worry, I'm sure he'll be on hand on Sunday to teach us a lesson or two!

But what do you think? Do you think Chelsea's victory softened City for us, or does it make them more dangerous? Do you think it's an augury of good things?