"You know my answer," Mikel Arteta replied when asked if his side were favourites for the Premier League title once more. The bookies have made their minds up again, even if the Gunners boss has not.
After losing to Manchester City the momentum swing felt important. The gap had been overturned despite the game in hand and Arsenal were now chasing, albeit momentarily. The way in which they have responded to going three games without a win - four in all competitions - has been as impressive as anything they have done this season.
The pressure of City on their shoulders, always with the quiet, surpressed threat of a crazy winning streak, has only added pressure. Add in that Arteta hasn't had his full squad available for much of the season and the reasons to doubt Arsenal are getting ever thinner.
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Without Gabriel Jesus for months since the World Cup it seems every avenue has been searched. Eddie Nketiah has produced the goods, now scoring nearly more than double Jesus' goals in a similar amount of minutes. Albeit the Brazilian has been about more than just his goals output.
Jesus is moving towards a return to action with Arteta admitting once more before the game that he is "doing really well he’s been doing quite a lot of work on the ball already and his rehab is going well". There is still no timeline for him to be back on the pitch but the news is largely positive.
"Ask the doctor maybe he'll give you one," Arteta said. "The knee’s not reacting so it’s really positive. We want him back as quick as possible, but also respecting the timescale that the doctors and the specialists are giving us."
As for his replacement, Nketiah was seen limping in the final moments of the 4-0 win against Everton, a game in which he remained on the bench for from the start. He was substituted on for Leandro Trossard with just 20 minutes left but still notched an assist in that time. His limp should not be too serious.
"With Eddie hopefully he’s fine," Arteta explained. "He finished the game well, but he’s been carrying a little thing." That little thing has so far not impacted results with Gabriel Martinelli performing better in recent weeks, scoring his fourth goal in three games on Wednesday night.
As for the rest of the squad, Thomas Partey was a half-time substitute despite questions over his own fitness, coming on for Jorginho. The Italian was ill, Arteta revealed afterwards. "Jorginho was not feeling good today," he said whilst also praising Partey for his impact. "When he came on he really gave some presence and some stability to the team and I think the second half was superb."
There was another boost with Emile Smith Rowe getting onto the field for the second time in a week - the first was 45 minutes of Under-21 football vs Chelsea on Monday. This was the perfect place for him to return to with Arteta having already said that he needed more game time to build up sharpness.
“Really good," he said of his condition before the match. "Obviously, they needed some minutes and at the moment they haven’t had much exposure for different situations. It was great to see them on the field because we’re going to need them in the next couple of games.”
Meanwhile Mohamed Elneny is the only other long-term absentee. Ahead of playing Bournemouth at the weekend it would appear that the Egyptian and Jesus are the only two out for sure with question marks remaining over Nketiah, Partey and Jorginho. Jakub Kiwior is also yet to make his first league appearance but joined Smith Rowe in appearing on Monday for the academy side. His readiness for action is also uncertain.
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