Those who have been to the Emirates Stadium this season will have noticed a curious phenomenon. Each time Arsenal have conceded, rather than the discontented murmurs that were common place in the late Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery eras, there has been a groundswell of support. Each set back is greeted with a roar of "come on" as the Gunners faithful seek to pull their team up by their bootstraps. On Sunday though as Julio Enciso headed home Brighton's opener, there was instead a quiet resignation.
The Emirates, so often at a cauldronous boil this season, could barely muster a simmer throughout. Perhaps they had been cooled by Manchester City overcoming what was probably their biggest hurdle en route to a now inevitable fifth Premier League trophy in six years. The Arsenal display, and stop-start nature of the match certainly didn't help to raise any temperatures.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. After last week's defiant victory at Newcastle Arsenal looked set to push City all the way. As it turns out they now almost certainly won't. Given the behemoth of opposition they're up against, and the relative inexperience of this squad, most fans will probably be able to make peace with that. Mikel Arteta though, felt differently.
