Last Sunday had the potential to change everything in the Premier League title race. Instead, it changed nothing.
Arsenal ended the weekend as they started it: five points clear of Manchester City with a game in hand.
Mikel Arteta's men took seven points from consecutive matches against third-placed Newcastle United, fifth-placed Tottenham and fourth-placed Manchester United.
They have passed the various tests left before them and maintained a healthy lead over City.
But they still have not played City themselves this season. That will change on Friday – just not in the Premier League.
The FA Cup fourth-round draw paired England's best two teams, providing a warm-up at the Etihad Stadium for their Emirates Stadium league clash in February.
These coming encounters are likely to bring more pressure for Arteta and Arsenal, who are without a title since 2004 and unfamiliar with such high-stakes matches of late.
The manager perhaps has a decision to make then on how to approach this cup tie – both in terms of his personnel and their approach.
When Arsenal exited the EFL Cup at home to Brighton and Hove Albion in early November, they did so with a team showing 10 changes to the line-up from their prior league win at Chelsea.
But does Arteta want to shuffle the pack again here and give the upper hand to City ahead of a far more important game in three weeks' time?
Speaking on Wednesday, Arteta weighed up the merits of cup progress – "that gives you more momentum, more confidence and prepares you better for the next match," he said – but he was also certain the league and cup matches would be "two very, very different games".
That was the case in Arsenal's double-winning campaign of 2001-02, when the Gunners beat eventual Premier League runners-up Liverpool at this stage of the FA Cup. That blood-and-thunder cup tie followed a fortnight after a tepid league draw.
Arsene Wenger praised the "outstanding" mental fortitude of his side, who were second at that point but did not lose another domestic match all season.
It was one of 16 examples – across 13 ties – in the Premier League era of the teams who finished first and second meeting in the FA Cup, EFL Cup or Champions League in the same season.
Although Arsenal's win against Liverpool was one of only seven victories for the league champions in those 16 attempts, another was the Gunners' round five win against Chelsea two years later, which was followed in their very next match by three points at Stamford Bridge that took them seven clear at the top.
Some consolation saw the Blues eliminate Arsenal from the Champions League later that season – a two-legged quarter-final tie around which Wenger's men stuttered in the league but clung to their unbeaten record.
In those cases, it appeared Arsenal benefited from getting a good look at their rivals in the first game before winning the second, precisely as Arteta suggested.
Meanwhile, the fear of losing momentum is understandable. Arsenal have played twice more against top-two rivals in the FA Cup and lost twice to Manchester United, who went on to take the title in both 1998-99 and 2002-03.
Such is the feel-good factor at Emirates Stadium right now, it is difficult to imagine defeat away to City with a much-changed team would dent Arsenal's confidence too significantly.
But heading home with a win on Friday would surely only increase belief in this side further.
Given the eight-day gap before the next Premier League match, Arteta – whose only major silverware to date was the FA Cup in 2019-20 – might be wise to consider this a helpful test rather than an unwanted distraction.
Martinez sends warning to Tuchel over possible Barry appointment
Roberto Martinez has told Thomas Tuchel that Anthony Barry will remain part of Portugal's coaching staff even if he swaps Chelsea for Bayern Munich.
Tuchel revealed at Saturday's unveiling as Bayern's new head coach that he is hoping to add Barry, who he worked with at Chelsea, as one of his assistants.
Highly regarded Barry has also spent the past year working alongside Martinez at international level, first with the Belgium national side and now Portugal.
And regardless of whether the 36-year-old stays at Stamford Bridge or joins Tuchel in Germany, Martinez expects him to remain as part of his own coaching set-up.
"I've been with Anthony for many years. What happens in international football has nothing to do with club football," Martinez said. "If there's a change, it'll be from club to club."
Martinez's tenure as Portugal boss got off to a positive start with a 4-0 win over Liechtenstein in Thursday's opening Euro 2024 qualifying fixture.
Portugal fielded a strong line-up for that game that included Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored twice on the day he became the most-capped player in men's international football.
Bernardo Silva was also on the scoresheet, but he has warned his team-mates not to take next Group J opponents Luxembourg lightly, even if they are ranked 92nd in the world.
"The truth is we don't know what to expect because teams can change depending on what they see in the games we've been playing and they can adapt to our game," Silva said.
"We expect a difficult game. The last time we came here we went through a lot of difficulties. The team has improved a lot. If I'm not mistaken, they haven't lost in seven games.
"We know that the game can be difficult at times. We have to fight against that, dominate the game and create opportunities to score goals and win."
Martinez is still getting to grips with his squad, having only replaced Fernando Santos two months ago, and he suggested changes will be made against Luxembourg.
"It's very important to have fresh people," he said at his pre-match press conference. "Three days after the game with Liechtenstein, it's important that everyone is physically well.
"We've been together for three days. I've been delighted with the level of unity, ambition and commitment I've seen. The quality of the squad is exceptional.
"We're just at the beginning of the journey; we have to grow together. But it's always easier when you win. Our last win was important from that point of view."
Balogun keeping all options open after starring on loan at Reims
Arsenal youngster Folarin Balogun is keeping all options open with regards to his future after starring on loan at Reims.
Balogun has scored 18 goals in 29 appearances for the French side, making him the highest-scoring player aged 21 or under across Europe's top five leagues this season.
The Arsenal academy product has made just two Premier League appearances for his parent club, who already have strikers Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah on their books.
He still has two years to run on his contract at Emirates Stadium, but Balogun is unsure where he will be playing his football in the 2023-24 campaign.
"Contractually I have to go back. The loan was for one year so that was always the agreement," he told Ligue 1's website. "I'm not sure what's going to happen in the future.
"A lot could happen in football, a lot could change, and it just depends on the conversations we have between me and the club in the summer, and we'll see what happens."
Balogun has 17 goals in Ligue 1 this season and is the only player to have scored against Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Lens, Monaco and Rennes, who make up the top five.
Asked if he would be interested in staying on at Reims for another year, Balogun said: "Yeah. I mean there's no door that's closed.
"Of course I have had a good year here and to a lot of people it makes sense for me to come back here. I don't know what the future will bring.
"But I would definitely advise young players to come out here. It's a really, really tough league, a league that will help you to improve.
"You get to play in crazy atmospheres. If you're ready to take yourself out of your comfort zone, I would advise any young player, I would advise any young player to come here."
PSG ultras petition for Al-Khelaifi meeting and slam 'flashy signings' policy
A collective of Paris Saint-Germain 'ultras' made a fresh request on Saturday to meet with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, while complaining about the "compulsive purchase of flashy names" and demanding a return of the team's famous Hechter shirt design.
In a press statement, the Collectif Ultras Paris complained the club have put marketing above sporting priorities, and warned the churn of personnel on and off the pitch was bringing the same results each season.
Some would argue PSG have never had it so good, with their success during the Qatar Sports Investments era – since 2011 – far exceeding anything previously achieved. They have won eight of the last 10 Ligue 1 titles, having only been champions twice before, while in 2020 they reached the Champions League final.
It is not winning over the ultras, however, with the club's most hardcore supporters insistent the club have underperformed.
An 11th Ligue 1 title this year would make PSG the most successful team in the competition's history, as they currently share the record of 10 with Saint-Etienne.
The ultras said in their statement: "Seasons pass and look the same. Players, coaches and sports directors follow one another and the same causes produce the same effects. Once again, our club has not lived up to its national and European objectives."
The group pointed to an early Coupe de France exit at the hands of fierce rivals Marseille, a "flat-lining" Champions League last-16 defeat to Bayern Munich, and a struggle to dominate in the domestic league.
PSG hold a seven-point lead over Marseille with 10 rounds of Ligue 1 games remaining.
The club have been able to attract major stars such as Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Marco Verratti, Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the goal of becoming champions of Europe remaining frustratingly out of reach.
The ultras said: "However, we have decided to maintain our support in the stands for the time being, the players not intended to be the scapegoats of a poorly constructed squad, a sports policy without real direction, the compulsive purchase of flashy names without worrying about the balance of the team, and the policy of a club where marketing seems to have taken precedence over sport.
"We will therefore continue our support until the 11th title of champion of France, which is meant to be historic, is acquired to our club."
The group added: "We ask for the umpteenth time to meet quickly with president Nasser Al-Khelaifi to explain to him orally the many problems that we have identified in and around the club, sporting and non-sporting, for many years."
They want to raise a ticketing issue that the group says favours "tourists and other VIPs", and are up in arms about PSG abandoning the shirt style pioneered by fashion designer Daniel Hechter, who had a stint as club president in the 1970s.
That home shirt design featured a thick red strip, with thin white lines at either side, down the middle of a largely dark blue shirt.
This season it has been inverted, with a thick white strip and thin red lines, and the fans are revolting, also calling for PSG to stay at the Parc des Princes amid concerns about a possible move to the Stade de France.
"We want profound changes and guarantees concerning the permanent return of the Hechter jersey," the ultras said.
They added: "Our love of the club is limitless, not our patience."
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