An extraordinary weekend of contrasts that reminded us all why we love football so much and how cruel a game it can be. Two days ago we were six points off the lead, hanging on to the front runners, sustained by a cocktail of faith, hope and comparisons with Usain Bolt. Charity wasn’t an issue, partly because we announced record profits while Portsmouth became the first top flight club to go into administration.

Now we are one big win away from the top, with the certainty that either Chelsea or Man U or both will drop points when they play each other. A draw in that game would likely see us one point from the top. Our ‘easy’ run in is a myth, but with odds now of 3/1 for Arsenal to win the title, we are not just back in the race but coming up on the rails.

The weekend started with the biggest question in sport – would Bridge and Terry shake hands? Resisting the temptation to offer his hand then humiliate Terry by holding it up to his nose and waggling it, Bridge piled on the mental pressure by eyeballing Terry then walking straight past. The significance become obvious when Terry, for the third match in a row, utterly choked and allowed Tevez to score. Chelsea crumbled in exactly the way that many pundits thought Arsenal would later in the day. Maybe a missed handshake could turn out to hit harder than a mistimed tackle.

The scenes of Carvalho with his head in his hands while Hilario flapped at the ball slowly rolling into the net were so reminiscent of Sol and Fabianski’s efforts against Porto that I started to wonder if the footballing gods had decided that a bit of role reversal would liven the weekend up. City’s 4-2 thumping of Chelsea, every bit as humiliating for the home fans as Chelsea’s visit to the Emirates, had me starting to believe.

By the time Gooners around the world settled down to the main event, faith and hope had been replaced by optimism, belief and fear that Stoke would trip us just as we were starting our sprint for home. Within 7 minutes the famous Stoke ’12th Man’ – I mean the towel, not the home fans – had conspired with some panicked defending to put us behind. And then the gods decided to make their move. Sol started shouting, Cesc clenched his fists and Song took his iPod out of his ears. Nikki B scored a sublime goal and we started to play like a team destined to be winners. London’s classic post is worth a second read just to enjoy the match again. What we had forgotten though, is that sometimes the gods demand a sacrifice, and so it came to pass.

Aaron Ramsey’s injury has been confirmed as a fracture to the tibia and fibula, which has been successfully operated on. The injury may be a little less complex than Dudu’s but will still keep him out for the rest of the season and likely much longer. Much was made of the contrition and distress of Ryan Shawcross as he left the pitch, but his track record (3 similar injuries to Arsenal and ex-Arsenal players in 3 years) suggests that there will be no redemption for Shawcross any time soon.

Again, on a day of contrasts, the ironies of football were highlighted by Shawcross’s elevation to the Englad squad a few hours after the game. Maybe if John Terry had broken Wayne Bridge’s leg rather than sleeping with his ex, he might still have the England captain’s job.

The spectre of Birmingham two years ago hovered over us, but this is a different team and a different time. This time the horror of the injury, instead of causing the team to choke, brought out the very best fighting spirit. For me the best moment of the match was when Cesc was jogging back past a ranting and gesticulating Pulis. Cesc held his finger to his mouth and told him to shush and that’s what every manager and every fan of every club is going to have to do when we storm our way to the top of the table and win the league.

On a weekend where even Craig Bellamy felt able to criticise a fellow professional’s off-field behaviour (‘we all know what  John Terry is like’), contrasts and role reversals were the order of the day. A missed handshake caused the league leaders to choke and a tragic injury allowed our young team to show what they are truly made of.