Leicester City in 'surreal dreamland' ahead of trip to title rival Arsenal

It's difficult to talk about Leicester City's remarkable season without slipping into cliché. So much is being written about our little unfashionable club that it is hard to find original words. For me it's also difficult to write objectively about the subject. I was born in the Royal Infirmary in Leicester city center, within sight of the club's ragged but charismatic old Filbert Street stadium (now sadly demolished). I was later a season ticket holder during the wilderness years. To be where we are today - five points clear at the top of the Premier League with 13 matches remaining, on course to win the title - is far beyond anyone's wildest hopes. Ahead of a key match away at Arsenal on Sunday, Leicester fans are afraid of waking up from a surreal, beautiful dream. OK enough clichés.

The atmosphere was very different last summer. Clouds of trepidation hung over Leicester when Claudio Ranieri was appointed as the new manager in July 2015. I can't remember speaking to a single person who thought it was a good move back then. The 64-year-old Italian hadn't managed in the Premier League for over 10 years and he was coming off the back of a series of career failures. Most recently he had a disastrous four-game run as coach of the Greece national team - sacked after losing in Athens to the Faroe Islands. The signs looked bad.

Ranieri's predecessor Nigel Pearson was an eccentric character with a loose tongue, but most Leicester supporters were fond of him. At the end of last season Pearson masterminded a heroic "Great Escape" from the relegation zone and fans were sad to see him go. After Ranieri's arrival, many supporters feared the worst. Most pundits predicted a miserable season ending in relegation. I did too. 

That wouldn't be the end of...