Are Burnley banana-peel or simply brown trout?

There is optimism, and there is overconfidence. Arsenal have just emerged from a dense, dense thicket through which the squad played no less than four matches in just 12 days. That we won all four has bred a fair amount of chest-pounding and back-slapping, The feeling of braggadocio has only swollen as we look ahead to fixtures to come and reckon that the next half-dozen or so should, by rights, end with maximum points. Burnley, newly promoted though they may be, represent just the sort of banana-peel we can ill-afford to slip on if we expect to match or improve on our second-place finish of last season.

Look to Theo to lay waste to Liverpool...

After a season in which our lads achieved their best finish since 2004-05, it's strange but also all too familiar to fret about our chances going into 2016-17. Despite pipping Tottenham to finish behind Leicester's legendary season, the same qualms and doubts persist. With Guardiola and Mourinho to contend with, it's anyone's guess whether we have what it takes to stay in the top four, much less replicate last season's theatrics. Sunday sees us kick off the season against Liverpool—but we're already in mid-season form, at least as far as injuries go. As dire as the situation seems, we do have one ace up our sleeves—Theo Walcott.

Who gives a toss about St. Totteringham's Day?

Okay, I'll admit it—it's all but impossible to resist the glee and the joy that came from Sunday's results, in which we not only smashed Aston Villa 4-0 again but also witnessed, absolutely gob-smacked, as Tottenham out-Tottenhammed themselves by losing to ten-man Toon 5-1. Three of those goals came after Newcastle lost Mitrović to a red-card in the 67th minute. I've been saying for weeks that Tottenham couldn't handle the pressure of being chased, but even I could not have foreseen this meltdown. While I'm sure that we've all tucked into a tidy celebratory dinner of lasagna chased down by a few Newcastle Brown Ales, I hope I'm not ruining the party by suggesting we have bigger fish to fry.

Aston Villa Preview: could Arsenal still top Tottenham?

So it comes down to this. On one hand, we've secured a top-four position with one match to play. On the other, there's still a glimmer of a chance that we could pip Tottenham to finish not third, but second. It would take a win for us and a loss for them, but stranger things have happened. Resist the urge to resurrect memories of 2013, when it was us facing Newcastle and Tottenham hoping for help. With roles reversed somewhat, do we dare to dream? Far better that we take care of our own business without worrying about results elsewhere. Much.

A £30m Granit Xhaka move to Arsenal all but set in stone...

With Arsenal's top-four position assured, it appears that Arsène Wenger has already turned his attention to the transfer window, with stories of a £30m transfer of Borussia Mönchengladbach defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka all but done. Said to be a taller, flintier, more-durable version of Jack Wilshere—think perhaps Bastian Schweinsteiger or Xabi Alonso, but younger and, you know, mobile—Xhaka is said to be keen on a move to the Prem. With just a point from our match against Aston Villa needed to qualify for the Champions League outright, could we see the confirmation of Xhaka to Arsenal within the week?