An 86th minute penalty that opened the floodgates in one otherwise tight game, followed by a tight draw full of varying forms of promise but deficient in the goal department to the tune of any. I suspect this is how the rest of the season’s going to be – hard to predict, nervy. Walking over teams and seeing them off into the distance with a merry wave tends not to be our way and with a fair bit at stake, I’m not convinced we’re going to waltz gloriously past anyone over the next five games. Under these circumstances I find it best not to even pretend to predict. Second guessing what Arsenal will do is a mug’s game.

All that being said, being the inquisitive sort of fool that I am, I couldn’t resist clicking on Mr Mouse’s Predictortron. Is it on? Is it off? What is ‘it’ exactly? Why do I do this to myself?

And then I cast my eyes upon this tweet from Orbinho:

Previous tweets, look at our next 5 fixtures. Then look at results from those same 5 opponents last season. In equivalent games got 1 point

— Orbinho (@Orbinho) April 17, 2013

Gah! I suppose, on the one hand, the edginess of these late-season fixtures means that we know are playing for something. Cast aside for a moment the fact that yet again it’s the Fourth Place Trophy – there’s something at stake. As Wenger has said on numerous occasions, there’s a clear goal and the only way to guarantee getting to it is by winning all our games (never a realistic proposition – if only life was that simple).

But on the other hand, there are lies, damned lies and statistics. If I studied this stuff too hard I’d work my way into a wild frenzy.

I would summarise things by saying I am neither pessimistic nor optimistic. I might be a different kind of istic. I’m encouraged by more things now than I was after our defeat at our neighbours. But am I going to scale the flagpole in my victory trousers? No no no. I am not.

I can 110% guarantee that I’m going to take each game as it comes. It’s five games of two halves after all. We could do with scoring a few more early doors.

There are no easy games at this level.