Football is a great old game. And what makes it great is that results like Arsenal being knocked out of the cup to Fleetwood Town can happen. It is great, of course, as long as you are not the team on the end of the giant killing.

Those sort of results just do not happen in other games. You would never get the 80th best T20 team in India beating the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, or the 80th best rugby union team in England beating Northampton Saints. We lost, and we moved on.

And what also makes football great is how quickly everything can change.

A day after our defeat to Fleetwood, Manchester City were also facing penalties. Whilst Arsenal lost, City won against Brighton, progressing to the quarter final.

3 days later, City faced Brighton again. Same stadium, different competition. And this time the Seagulls came out on top.

This weekend would have expected to have been a weekend where City regain their lead over Arsenal in the league. They faced Brighton on the Saturday, whilst Arsenal visited Anfield on the Sunday – a place the Gunners had not won for something like 14-years.

Arsenal defended valiantly, scored, and won. 3 points in the bag. And with City’s defeat, it is us who sit top of the league, 3 points clear.

Given the choice between beating Fleetwood last Tuesday, and winning at Anfield yesterday, every Arsenal fan would have picked the later. The League is simply so much more important than the League Cup.

And Likewise, had City fans been told they could only beat Brighton once, they all would have sacrificed the weird 3-handeled cup and opted for the Premier League match.

As it turns out, Arsenal were the losers mid-week, but City were the big losers over the course of the week having also lost against Aston Villa on the Saturday before.

And again, this is what makes football great.

In the space of 9 days, City went from being 3 points ahead to 3 points behind, whilst Arsenal had to stomach the biggest giant killing in recent football memory. What incredible emotions and no wonder most football fans are probably on blood pressure tablets.

Our detractors will once again be out in force complaining about defensive football. Those same fans from Manchester United and Chelsea were celebrating Brighton’s defensive game-plan just 24-hours before.

The hate-watchers will also be complaining about the quality of the Premier League, and how Arsenal are showing themselves to be poor champions and are a long way off Europe’s elites. That forgets, of course, that last season Arsenal were in the Champions League final, only losing to PSG on penalties. And beat Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan on the way. English clubs also did the clean sweep in the lesser European trophies.

The fact is, the Premier League has never been stronger. And that is why we are seeing less goals and games won in a tougher manner. And why English clubs are dominating in Europe.

One week you can be beating Brighton, the next you can be losing.

Up next for Arsenal is Hull City at home, whilst Man City go away to Nottingham Forest. It should be 3 points each. But it would not be a surprise if one of us failed to secure the win. It will be that type of season.

I would take the pain of a Fleetwood defeat every time if I was guaranteed the joy of winning at Anfield.

Keenos