It was fairly obvious that Arsenal were not at our brilliant best in the Premier League match away to Stoke City today, even though we did have a few decent chances to score the goal that would have meant all three points coming back to north London from the Potteries.
But even though there will be a certain amount of disappointment about not getting the win that would have put us three points clear of title rivals Man City and two ahead of Leicester, I think we need to look on this draw as a positive result that has enhanced our chances of winning the league this season.
For one thing it was a much better and more resolute performance than we have seen from Arsenal at the Britannia Stadium in recent years. So while the fluency and creative flair might not have been quite there, we did show the other side of the game with some true grit and steel.
A team needs to be able to do both sides of the game to win a title and after showing the beautiful side many times this season it was good to see us produce the other side this week. Also we got a point from this tough test without a large number of first team regulars in key positions, with Ozil, Cazorla, Coquelin and Alexis Sanchez all out of action.
That for me makes today’s point a very positive one and suggests that Arsenal have the necessary tools to complete the job of winning the EPL title. What do you think Gooners?