Arsenal might remain hostages to fortune in their quest to snatch fourth-place in the Premiership, but they have one more chance to put pressure on Tottenham Hotspur when they travel to Manchester City on Thursday. Spurs currently enjoy a four-point lead over their north London rivals as they seek Champions League football for the first time in their history, but Arsenal have proved that they are not yet ready to give up the chase.
Arsene Wenger's side dispatched Sunderland with embarrassing ease on Monday and are currently enjoying their most consistent form of the season, having lost just once in their last 14 matches.
There is also something about City which brings out the best in Arsenal: it is almost 15 years since they lost in east Manchester.
Now Wenger must decide whether his priority is still to try and catch Spurs - who must fail to beat West Ham on Sunday to stand any chance of being overhauled - or the Champions League final against Barcelona at the Stade de France on May 17.
Victory over the Catalans would bring automatic qualification for next season's tournament; defeat, together with a fifth-placed finish, would push the Gunners into the unloved and unrewarding Uefa Cup.
Wenger's decision may be shaped by events at the Stadium of Light earlier this week.
In the dying stages of Arsenal's 3-0 win, the midfielder Abou Diaby was stretchered off with a broken ankle which will rule him out of Paris. The French manager can ill afford any more absentees and he is likely to rest players for the journey to Eastlands.
However, Ashley Cole may not be one of them. The England left-back returned to first-team duty for the first time in three months on Wearside and Wenger has confirmed that he will start at least one match between now and the end of the season.
"Ashley certainly will play one of the two games remaining," he said. "We play on Thursday night and Sunday afternoon, and he will play in one of the two games.
"He's getting better and better. I think he's ready for 90 minutes because he has played two games in the reserves and came through them, so it shouldn't be a problem to play 90 minutes."
Arsenal will be in expectant mood regardless of their selection dilemma. City may have started the new year with realistic expectations of Europe but they have plummeted to 15th after losing seven of their last eight matches.
Stuart Pearce, the manager, would be forgiven for wishing that he was already on his summer holidays, but in public at least his enthusiasm is undaunted.
"This is one of those games where you don't have to motivate your team," he said.
"You know their strengths and with games against the likes of Arsenal you won't have to motivate your side because you are playing against a top side, and all the players are aware of that.
"They know they have to put in top performances to compete with the likes of Arsenal. In some ways that's not an issue for me, and I'm sure they will go out and put a show on for the last home match of the season."
