Just as Arsenal fans become satisfied with the state of things, someone comes along and ruins it for them.
And that someone often seems to be Stoke City. But there were signs today that the tide may be turning.
Sure, we're not in the Pulis days, which brought
that Ryan Shawcross foul on Aaron Ramsey and - somehow - Seyi Olofinjana scoring a crucial Premier League goal.
Fresh from a 5-1 win at West Ham, and with a chance to temporarily go top of the league with Chelsea playing on Sunday, the Gunners welcomed Stoke to the Emirates Stadium.
But it took just half an hour for the visitors to take the lead, with Charlie Adam converting from the penalty spot, and many considered the hosts lucky to still have 11 players on the pitch.
While we can't show you the video footage, these stills demonstrate the offence from Granit Xhaka which saw referee Lee Mason point to the spot - but which did not result in a card for the Swiss international.
With Theo Walcott drawing Arsenal level before half-time, and Mesut Özil putting the home side ahead after the break, talk soon turned to whether Xhaka should have been punished more severely.
You'll either be sure it's a red card offence, certain it's not, or somewhere in the middle. Pretty unhelpful, huh?
As commentators would say, it's 'one of those'.
https://twitter.com/Jonny_Singer/status/807610533058854913
https://twitter.com/MiguelDelaney/status/807608634268090368
https://twitter.com/RainManHD/status/807615229685338113
https://twitter.com/JPreeceSCFC/status/807614587721961472
https://twitter.com/scfcliam_/status/807613337542553600
https://twitter.com/nankpete/status/807614252118904833
Catch up with this week's episode of Football Friday Live
