Matt Maher: Premier League shaping up for a thrilling finish - wherever you look
We have reached the stage of the season where every result is considered defining.
Wednesday night’s capitulation at Wolves means Arsenal are definitely going to blow the title.
At least that will be the case, until closest challengers Manchester City slip-up at home to Newcastle on Saturday night.
Villa, meanwhile, were definitely out of the title race after taking just one point from matches against Brentford and Bournemouth but will be definitely back in it if they beat Leeds this weekend.
Michael Carrick should be made Manchester United’s permanent manager. Just not if they lose their next game.
All of the above opinions contain a grain of possibility and truth. All of them may turn out to be completely false come May.
Unai Emery’s press briefings might often sound repetitive, yet the Villa manager has always been right to stress the league season is played across 38 matches.
Nothing is decided in February, a statement perhaps more true of this campaign than any other in recent memory.
The marathon of a league season has never been suited to the kind of knee-jerk reactions and confident, iron-cast predictions demanded in the modern media age.
Of course Arsenal, with just 10 points from their last seven matches, are experiencing a wobble.
