Same old Arsenal... always cheating its fans

Arsenal’s dramatic loss to Fulham leaves them nine points behind leaders Manchester City in spite of playing a game more than the title hopefuls, thus repeating a habit of sorts that they have developed of losing key matches when your opponents falter. Look back in The Gunners’ history and you will see that this exact failure to win matches which take you closer to the title is what has kept their trophy room as it was half a dozen years ago. Add to this the matches that the two Manchester clubs play on Tuesday, which could extend the gap to 12 points, which is what exactly happened when they lost against City on 18th December at home. If they would have won that game, it would have made a huge difference to the chasing pack and more importantly, to the confidence of Arsenal. It was looking like a season of disaster as they started 2011 winning only seven points in as many games, which included losses to Liverpool, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur. [caption id=“attachment_171243” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=Robin Van Persie and Stephen Kelly in action during Arsenal’s loss against Fulham. Reuters]  [/caption] But recovery came at a good time for the under-fire Arsene Wenger as a string of eight unbeaten matches (7 wins and a draw) took them to fourth position, propelled by the unbelievable form of Robin Van Persie, before that City loss. It is hardly surprising to see Arsenal falter just when it matters most. Last season, when Chelsea were league leaders, they lost in the 6th, 11th and 14th week of the Premiership and it was the ideal opportunity for Arsenal to overtake their London rivals, but as record has it, they lost in the same weeks. What is even worse is that when Manchester United took the lead from Chelsea as the top team in 2010-11, the Red Devils failed to win in the 21st, 25th, 28th, 29th, 33rd and 37th league matches. Arsenal were second in the table as United stumbled, and believe it or not, they dropped points in the exact same round of matches. At the run-in of the season, they won only once in their last six matches, having to contend with 4th position in what could have been a defining title winning season. In 2009-10, they were chasing Chelsea in an unlikely manner, with the Emirates faithful finally cheering on louder than ever, sensing a dramatic overtake in the title run-in, but then they drew against Birmingham City, leaving United to overtake them to second and handing Chelsea the title. Even in those last eight matches, all Arsenal could gather were eight points. This record can be tracked even farther back in English league history, and it has haunted Arsenal since they lost their experienced players in the form of Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and the defensive back-bone of Martin Keown, Sol Campbell and the rest of the Invincibles. So, what exactly is the problem? How can a team who do well to chase every season end up losing the battle at the death? Arsenal’s perseverance has always counted, but since the young crop came into the set-up, things have wavered in record-breaking fashion for the North Londoners. And they cannot play the ‘inexperienced team’ card always. There has to be a time when they wake up and buy players who know how to win the league. It doesn’t matter if it is a player in the age bracket of 28-35 years as Jose Mourinho so brilliantly showcased in his time at Inter Milan. All Arsenal need are players who know how hectic the English Premier League can be, players who understand the importance of 1-0 victories against clubs who are termed as minnows or underdogs, because in football, no one is an underdog. No one should be underestimated. But underestimate Fulham they did. Leaving apart the referee’s decisions, Arsenal are a far superior team to the Cottagers, and should have put to bed the match before half-time itself. It is ‘same old… same old’ for Arsenal and they do not even complain when rival teams chant it straight at them. Even though it looks like it is over for Arsenal where the league title is concerned this season, hark back to 1997 when they overhauled a Manchester United team who were 12 points ahead to cap an exceptional championship run. If there is anything that keeps them going, it is hope. And hope they will, that it doesn’t run out.