Arsenal fans with good memories are all too well aware of some of the club’s more repetitive problems, although to be honest they do keep happening to keep this sort of thing nice and fresh in the minds of your average Gooner. And of course we always have those friendly faces in the football media that are always willing to point something out and remind us why Arsenal are destined to fail.
This week there are two what you might call Arsenal hoodoos being reported; the curse of November and now the record away to Olympiacos.
It has been, somewhat gleefully, pointed out that Arsenal have lost ball three of our previous away games against Olympiacos in the Champions League and so we might as well forget qualifying for the knockout stage. And the fact that all three of those games came on the final matchday makes the hoodoo seem even more real. Like most statistics though, this does not tell the whole story.
As pointed out by Arsene Wenger, we had already qualified on at least two of those previous occasions and although we might have still had a chance of topping the group we fielded a weakened side. And if you need any more proof that previous results and records do not really matter, remember that the Greek side had never won in England against anyone before this season. It happens.
When it comes to the curse of November, statistics show that the Gunners have scored fewer points per game in this month than any other since Wenger became manager. And you can see that the month has not been kind to us this time either.
It started with a thumping away to Bayern Munich and a lacklustre draw with the spuds before the international break. Then that shock loss at West Brom but all this has not actually been as damaging as it might have. Beating Dinamo Zagreb last night has kept us in the Champions League and there is just one November game left, away to Norwich City, and if Arsenal win it we might even find ourselves on top of the Premier League.
Hoodoo, what hoodoo?
Supporting Arsenal should come with a doctor’s warning…we had a group we should easily qualify out of with plenty to spare and yet we managed to screw things up..
Chances are we’ll win by a goal or a 2-1 scoreline and go our agonisingly close, sounds familiar?…..anyone noticed how flat the atmosphere was yesterday at the emirates? That is because fans are now weary and accustomed to our club ALWAYS coming up short, fans are tired of the feeling of groundhog day you get with Arsenal…from the perpetual never ending injury nightmares, to the frustrations of losing games we have no business even drawing, to the inevitable underwhelming transfer dealings etc…if there is anything more frustrating it’s fans who think their unbridled and borderline delusional belief in the club is enough to win us things,conveniently forgetting that in life you get what you put in and pure luck cam only take you so far….hopefully we’ll get though to the last 16, but then what? Get knocked out? Lolll
I agree with you, that this is the lot of an Arsenal fan. Hell they wrote a best selling book about it. However, it would just be like us to scrape through and then go on and win the bloody thing too so here’s hoping lol.
Better than Europa but totally agree with everything you said. It’s typical routine, Wenger not addressing a specific issue in the team, and we pay for it in November and around March. He’s clearly taking the team forward but he’s doing it too slowly, and being slow only give our rivals time to strengthen. By the time our team will be complete, Mourinho and United will probably have replaced all their flops with top class quality on the bench as well a their first XI like City.
Arsenal has no place in the cl. Not only us but every team from england is not cl material right now.
i would say city with silva and aguero
an us with our full first team
deserve to be in it
only team i feel neither could beat on literally anyday at this moment is barcelona.
i watched the game with roma and real madrid …my jaw is still on the floor somewhere
chelsea an man u have the pedigree in europe but bring nothing to it, but negative tactics, diving and generally poor play and sportmanship
Why the hell are my comment under moderation? Its not like a shoot plane down or something.
Nah, they will go through to the next round. Satan Kroenke won’t allow it to be any other way, cuz it’s pure money coming his way, there will be a sufficient volume of pressure from the slimy top to motivate the players to perform well.
And in the last sixteen, as always, they’ll get knocked out, even if Dinamo Kyiev tops their group and get’s drawn against Arsenal.
Champions league has become a major nuisance for any normal Arsenal fan, but still it’s a shame not to make it past the insignificant clubs such as Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb.