Of Mr Wengers 3 title winning seasons in England, two were on the back of remarkable winning streaks.
Between January 31st 1998 and 3rd May 1998 we put together a run of 13 wins in 14 games, with 10 of those on the trot. It was a stunning charge to the title, which was preceded by rather patchy form (4 wins, 4 defeats and 2 draws in 10 games).
In 2002 we put on an even more powerful run of 13 wins in a row.
The run started, coincidently, on the 10th of February 2002. It was preceded by a home draw against Southampton - as hopefully this seasons strong run will be!
The run that season was actually 18 wins and 3 draws in 21 games - let's hope we haven't left it too late.
A win on Sunday is arguably a must, but even then it will count for nothing if we cannot go to places like Old Trafford, the Etihad and White Hart Lane and come home empty handed. There is a good chance defeat in any of these 4 games will kill our title hopes.
Have we got the team to go on such a run? Well, we have had strong runs in the modern past. Last season we went on an 8 run winning streak that started a year ago today (10th Feb 2015) with a win over none other than Leicester City It was a 9 win and 1 draw run, that if repeated now would put us very much in the final equation.
In 2012-13 the last 14 games saw us win 11, draw 2 and lose 1. Again, the sort of form that could put us in a strong position.
Maybe some of the experience chasing down teams in the race for top 4 will come in handy as we reach the business end of the season!!
Defeat on Sunday, however, and I think the task would become too big. A lot of tough away games (similar to the run-in in 2014, where we of course got absolutely hammered at Liverpool, Chelsea and Everton)
But victory and maybe we can match the teams of our glorious past
Can we match the past glory runs?
posted on 10/2/16
I want Arsene to go when he's ready...he's earned the right and deserves our respect and support until he leaves.
The players however get no sympathy from me...they are free to go whenever they want. I have zero connection with the modern players. they let the manager and our club down badly!!
listen in the stands and you hardly hear players names being sung....it's always Arsenal,Arsenal,Arsenal
posted on 10/2/16
comment by IanWrightWrightWright (U12750)
posted 13 seconds ago
I want Arsene to go when he's ready...he's earned the right and deserves our respect and support until he leaves.
The players however get no sympathy from me...they are free to go whenever they want. I have zero connection with the modern players. they let the manager and our club down badly!!
listen in the stands and you hardly hear players names being sung....it's always Arsenal,Arsenal,Arsenal
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But isn't it the managers fault the players are like they are?
posted on 10/2/16
listen in the stands and you hardly hear players names being sung....it's always Arsenal,Arsenal,Arsenal
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That is probably more to do with their names. Hard to get Szczesny, Koscielny, Mertesacker or Coquelin in a song - but Olivier 'nah, nah, nah, nahnahnahnah Girooooooooooooooooooo' Giroud gets one.
posted on 10/2/16
I don't think we'll win the league. I don't think we have enough players up for the fight. in our other title winning teams we had pretty much 11 players who were up for fighting to the end in high pressure situations, and could drag themselves to victory.
Over recent games only sanchez, ozil and Cech looked like to be really pushing to win. Rest hid a bit, they're fair weather players. They either hide from responsibility or can't cope and make to many mistakes.
I think the players have it in them to win it, and I hope now with sanchez, ozil and coquelin back playing together, they can galvanise the team much more. Also we have likes of wilshere and welbeck close to a return. I think, and hope they will put there all well up to impress and will fight in the remaining games. Both have a lot to prove, and hopefully that will benefit us. Also cazorla back for the final run in which will be a boost.
But all the other player now need to show they are ready and have it in them to stand up, take responsibility and go on a winning run.
Also flamini and ramsey should never play together at cm again this season
posted on 10/2/16
Theo and Giroud are in poor form which is worrying. We need ox to step it up rw. Cazorla is a massive miss. A lot depends on how Ramsey and Coq play together.
posted on 10/2/16
I want to think that we can, but recent history would suggest that the only time we hit title winning form at the business end of the season is when Champions League qualification is at risk.
To take it a step further and win the league is something else entirely, but I don't think that this team has the mentality to win it. We seem to lose focus in games that we're expected to do well in.
If we do want to win the title, this is yet another game that we have to win. A draw or loss and we're out of the equation, in my opinion.
posted on 11/2/16
The one thing stopping us from winning the title is ourselves. No one else has the strength of our team. It's a shame reall
posted on 11/2/16
Let's be honest, we are mentally a very brittle team.
Can you really imagine this team going to OT and Etihad and getting the desired results for the league title?
posted on 11/2/16
comment by HenryMeinKampf (U20000)
posted 4 hours, 28 minutes ago
The one thing stopping us from winning the title is ourselves. No one else has the strength of our team. It's a shame reall
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Let's see,
- 1 out-and-out striker.
- 1 right back
- 1 replacement CB
- No nailed-on skipper.
Such obvious shortages are unacceptable for any so-called "strong" side.
posted on 11/2/16
I'm not sure such a run will happen, the league this season has been crazy, so many good sides with top quality players it's really hard to win 8+ games in a row unless the fixture list is pretty kind like last seasons, but it isn't
I don't think it's needed either, we aren't miles off the top and none of the other title contenders are outstanding. Just need to beat Leicester I think, a draw wouldn't completely rule us out but comparing the fixtures it's hard to see where we'd catch up if we lost