Could this finally be Arsenal's season?
The Gunners are top of the Premier League heading into 2014, and for the first time in an eight-year period during which the Emirates Stadium trophy cabinet has been firmly shut, they are genuine title contenders.
Here, Sports Mole recaps how Arsene Wenger's men put themselves in such a strong position.
August
It didn't start so well. After a 3-1 opening-day defeat at home to Aston Villa, Wenger was lambasted for his lack of summer recruitment activity, with Arsenal yet to spend a penny of the £70m war chest that had been promised for squad improvements.
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Although they managed get off the mark with a 3-1 victory at Fulham next time out, and overcame Fenerbahce in their two-legged Champions League qualifier, there was still a huge amount of pressure on Wenger to dip into the transfer market.
September
Mathieu Flamini's return to the club on a free did nothing to immediately inspire the Gunners faithful, although the tough-tackling French midfielder made a big impact off the bench in the North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur, who had in contrast invested £110m on new talent.
Then it happened. They opened their chequebook to bring in the world-class difference maker that their supporters had so craved, as Real Madrid and Germany star Mesut Ozil signed in a £42m deadline-day move from Los Blancos.
The playmaker's arrival galvanised the Arsenal players, none more so than Aaron Ramsey, who scored twice in a 3-1 triumph over Sunderland, and then netted again as they began their attempts to qualify from the Champions League group of death with a win over Marseille.
Ramsey's newfound prolificacy continued as he struck goals in Premier League victories over Stoke City and Swansea City, and a perfect month for the Gunners was completed with passage into the Capital One Cup fourth round courtesy of a penalty-shootout success over West Bromwich Albion.
October
Ozil opened his account for the club with the first in a 2-0 win over Napoli, with the second scored by Olivier Giroud, whose goal return was easing concerns that Arsenal were short up front following their failed pursuit of Liverpool's Luis Suarez.
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A 1-1 draw away at West Brom prevented them from recording six consecutive top-flight wins, and they suffered another setback when Borussia Dortmund beat them 2-0 to inflict on them a first defeat in 12 matches.
However, an Ozil-inspired 4-1 victory over Norwich City and another win at Crystal Palace either side of their European loss ensured that they stood top of the Premier League at the end of the month, although Chelsea knocked them out of the chase for another piece of silverware by ousting them from the Capital One Cup.
November
November started with two major tests of Arsenal's trophy-winning credentials, and they passed them both with flying colours as star man Ramsey scored in wins over Liverpool and Dortmund. Even the cynics were starting to believe that they were the real deal.
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A former favourite came back to haunt them the week after, though, as Robin van Persie struck the only goal in Manchester United's 1-0 success at Old Trafford, but Wenger's men proved that they are made of stern stuff with a strong response upon returning from the international break.
The much-improved centre-back partnership of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker guided the Gunners to wins and clean sheets over Southampton, Marseille and Cardiff City, which suggested that their promising start to the campaign was not just another false dawn.
December
It appeared as if everything was going Wenger's way when forgotten striker Nicklas Bendtner scored in a 2-0 victory over Hull City, but a tough run in to the festive period saw them go four matches without a win, and questions were again asked about their ability to pick up results against the top sides.
They battled for a 1-1 draw when they were outplayed by Everton at the Emirates, and lost 2-0 to Napoli in Italy the following Wednesday, but still qualified for the Champions League last 16 on goal difference.
A tough week for the Gunners was made worse when they conceded six in a nine-goal thriller at Manchester City, and their confidence looked to be damaged as they mustered just one shot on target in a home stalemate with London rivals Chelsea.
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They had been leapfrogged at the Premier League summit by Liverpool, but Arsenal responded again as Theo Walcott, who scored twice in the defeat at Eastlands, bagged another brace to earn them a come-from-behind win at West Ham United on Boxing Day.
The depth of their playing ranks was demonstrated 72 hours later, when a team without Ramsey and Ozil overcame in-form Newcastle United on Tyneside to ensure that they were leading the way in England at the end of a fantastic 2013.
Joe Fish
