Round about this time every year questions arise about Arsene Wengers future.
Its like the flow of the seasons but this year a bit like #Storm Emma, it seems the turbulence could be a bit more than both the board of directors at Arsenal and the gunners boss himself can stomach.
Movie buffs will be aware that in the film Groundhog Day, Phil (Bill Murray), a weatherman, is out to cover the annual emergence of the groundhog from its hole(!). He gets caught in a blizzard that he didn't predict and finds himself trapped in a time warp. He is doomed to relive the same day over and over again until he gets it right.
Art imitating life?
The film is set in Gobblers Knob, prompting way too many smart comments totally inappropriate for this forum.
However following on from their 3 nil League cup final defeat, Arsenal have suffered the same dose at the hands of the same team which may generate similar feelings among Arsenal fans to those experienced by Bill Murrays on screen character.
Pep Guardiola's side are 30 points clear of Arsenal and, with their 16-point lead over Manchester United restored, could win the title in a little over a month when they face their city rivals on 7 April.
If they were to win the title that weekend it would be the earliest the Premier League title has ever been won.
Bernardo Silva opened the scoring in the 15th minute, curling in a left-footed strike into the far corner after Leroy Sane's run.
David Silva finished off a great team move in the 28th minute for City's second before Sane did the same five minutes later.
Arsenal had the opportunity to cut the deficit shortly after half-time but Ederson saved Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's penalty.
"We played with low confidence, you could see that at the start of the game and we paid for it," Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said.
Who's fault is that?
Arsenal, stay sixth in the table, 10 points off the top four. Hardly a major crisis.
It's run as a really good business and Wenger has been a steady hand for more than 2 decades but you get a sense that it's time to inject some passion into a club that is really just going through the motions right now.
This summer could and probably should herald a change.
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