It is that time of the season again and Arsenal fans are getting the same sinking feeling. At least we are still in the FA cup, although our failure to see off Hull City at home means we might not be in it for much longer and it has forced Arsenal to squeeze one more game into an already congested fixture list.
It really is beginning to feel like the Gunners are stuck in a loop, where we get ourselves into a good position in the Premier League table until the second half of the season sees us take an early bath from the Champions League and and lose any realistic chance of winning the title.
Up until a couple of years ago these was an early FA cup exit thrown in for good measure, so there is definitely a recurring theme here and it is really starting to get on my pip and I’m sure that many other Arsenal fans feel the same way.
But what are the reasons behind this annual slump? In previous years there have been various theories such as a raft of injury problems but you cannot really say that this time. In fact we should be flying after getting the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck back and only have a handful of players out.
There is one constant, of course, and that is that Arsene Wenger has been in charge. There is his reluctance to spend money in the January transfer window, of course, but is the general malaise and lack of desire and fight actually coming from the boss and filtering down to the players?
Everyone makes mistakes and funny things happen in football, but if the same mistakes keep happening to the same manager year after year, surely something has to be done. But will the club have the guts to act?