The Arsenal experience is a unique one. For the better part of the last decade, the team has married consistently reliable seasons with seemingly wild swings in form. They currently sit fourth in the table with 34 points, nine behind league-leading Chelsea. Fourth place is a comfortable position for the North London side. They've finished there five of the last 10 seasons, along with four thirds and last year's second. It's also disappointing. Just two weeks ago they sat in second, only three points back, a team that looked as likely as any to challenge Chelsea at the top of the table. They took leads against both Everton and Manchester City but held neither. Arsenal are always pretty good but often leave fans feeling like they could be better.

What should Arsenal fans expect of this team? Are they a team that should be a title contender? Are the last two weeks yet another hiccup keeping Arsenal from reaching the levels they should achieve? Or was their position in the table two weeks ago a mirage? Were the last two weeks the kind of blunders that inevitably happen to teams that are playing above their heads? Are Arsenal, yet again, simply a pretty good team who can't sustain a challenge for the title?