The sun isn’t shining as brightly as it was more than a month ago when Arsenal went 5 points clear at the top (Monday, Feb 11). 5 days after that win, dark clouds started hovering on the horizon. And now, although the dark clouds have not caused complete darkness, they are blocking the sun rays. On March 4, the clouds parted just slightly to let in a ray of sunshine at about the time Adebayor’s goal crossed the Milanese line. Even though one can continue to sense the presence of the sun behind those clouds, complete light is still elusive. So the easiest way to bring the sunshine back is to dispense one cloud at a time. Sunday’s game against Chelsea offers a chance towards restoring a sunny weather outlook.

Case of expectations:

If Arsenal had started the season by drawing their first 4 games, I might have not been that disappointed as I have been in the last few weeks. Enough excuses could have been given to a slow start — departure of Henry & Freddie and loss of their experience, continued problems from the past seasons, etc. And given Manchester United’s slow start where they only got 2 points from their first 3 league games, scoring just one goal in the process, a possible slow Arsenal start might not have seemed that bad. In fact, Manchester had to wait until the 7th league game of the season to score more than one goal in a game (2-0 over Jose-less Chelsea). But Arsenal started their season impressively and improved on displays from the previous few years. For example, in the last few years, if Arsenal had gone down to an early goal, they were unable to come back. The start of this season, Arsenal managed to score late goals to win games and even managed to get wins in games where they didn’t play all that well. Plus the different goal-scorers, the manner of the goals, etc all pointed to a team ready for the title. The first real dip in the season came with the 5 dropped points against Newcastle and Boro on Dec 5 & 9th. And then the recent 8 dropped points constitute the second bad patch of the season. Even now, it is hard to believe Arsenal only have just one loss this season. Of course, the 10 draws has been their undoing. In a way, it was great that Arsenal made a great start as that helped give the team a good momentum and plenty of self-belief to charge at the top. It is hard to imagine the team would be near the top had they not started that positively.

Super Sunday Part I vs Part II

The clash of the top 4 on Dec 16 was always going to be a key fixture in the title race. Wins for Arsenal and Manchester that day left Chelsea and Liverpool on the outside. Many deemed it as a two horse race as Arsenal regained top spot, followed by Man Utd with Chelsea and Liverpool losing pace. Things have changed quite a bit regarding this Sunday’s reverse fixtures. Now, Man Utd have the upper hand with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool seeking to bring themselves back into the fold. Wins for Arsenal and Liverpool would certainly help in opening the race up a bit more.

Liverpool are 11 points back of Manchester and are hoping to bring themselves into contention again but one of their main undoings this season has been their 11 draws. Liverpool have the most draws this season (along with Fulham) and one can only wonder if Liverpool had managed to convert half of those into wins (not including that 1-1 tie with Arsenal, of course), then they would have certainly been breathing down Manchester’s necks. Of course, the same could be said of Arsenal’s 10 draws (Villa, Boro and Blackburn also have 10 draws). Even if the Gunners have converted half of those draws into wins, then the table would have been different with Arsenal clear at the top by 7 points.

When Sunday comes:

It has been almost three years since Liverpool won the Champions League and it is hard to believe that Rafa Benitez’s reputation is still built on those 6 magic minutes against Milan. Had Liverpool not come back against Milan, then I doubt he would have gotten the same respect that he currently does. Sure he has managed to outsmart plenty of top European teams over the years, but he has yet to lead his Liverpool team to a victory over Man Utd in the league; Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Man Utd in a 2005/06 F.A Cup tie is the only time Rafa got the upper hand on Ferguson. Considering the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester, it is quite frustrating from an Arsenal perspective that Liverpool have not managed to dent Man Utd’s bubble and given them a real derby like fight. In fact, Liverpool’s record in the league against Manchester is quite awful: out of the 7 league games that Rafa has faced against Manchester, his team have 6 loses and just one 0-0 tie, letting in 8 goals and scoring just one goal (even that one was an own goal by O’Shea). The manner of the goals let in has been disappointing as well, with only Tevez (this season), Scholes and Rooney deemed regular goal-scorers while the rest were scored by defenders who were not picked up (O’Shea, Silvestre with 2, Ferdinand with 2).

Arsenal’s win over Chelsea this season ended a run of 6 winless league games for Arsenal over their London rivals. Arsenal did not manage any wins over Chelsea in the Jose years. So this season with Jose gone (only in body but apparently not in spirit), Gallas restored the normal order of things by heading Arsenal to that crucial win. And Arsenal’s last away win to Chelsea was in that unbeaten 2003/04 season. Interestingly, that Feb 21 2004 loss for Chelsea against Arsenal was the last time they lost a home game in the league at Stamford Bridge. They currently hold the league record for longest unbeaten home streak, which is currently at 77 games.

Can I have just the good memories?

Part of being a soccer fan involves having a catalog of memories. With each passing season, multiple memories (good and bad) get added to a fan’s mind. It is amazing how many scores, players names and moments the average soccer fan can recall from the top of their minds. When things are not going so good for a team, then unfortunately sometimes a gush of bad memories (like past disappointments and failures) come to the forefront and attempt to bury the good memories. Every soccer fan has had to deal with those bad moments at one point or another. One can attempt to block these unhappy moments but can’t erase them completely. In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind, Jim Carrey’s character wants to erase the unpleasant memories from his mind. But when that erasing process starts, unfortunately large chunks of his character’s life memories start to disappear as well. As it turns out, the bad memories were tied up with his life and if one took away the bad memories, then a large part of his life went away as well. And so it is with a soccer fan as well. These bad memories become part of the fan’s lives and somehow get burned into their psyche.

Thankfully in recent years, Arsenal have given plenty of good memories to their fans. It would be nice to have the happy times be always present but that is not always the case for many reasons. The last few weeks have been disappointing as far as the league has been concerned. But still, there have been many good moments this season. I can only hope that the good memories are not over yet. This team has worked so hard this year and they deserve to get something for their efforts.

On Sunday, an Arsenal win coupled with a Liverpool victory would help ease the pain of the recent weeks. But it won’t be easy. Sunday will be full of nerves and tense battles. Not one for the faint hearted, that’s for sure. But being an Arsenal fan has never been an easy task. In 1989, Arsenal could have wrapped up the title long before the final game but they kept slipping up until they needed a two goal victory at Anfield, which they managed with only a few seconds to spare. Arsenal were completely outplayed for most of the 1994 Cup Winner’s Cup final against Parma but they worked hard to ensure that their only real shot on Parma’s net turned out to the winner. In 1998, they put together an amazing run of results in the league, including a memorable 1-0 win away to Old Trafford to take away the title from Manchester. 2002 and 2004 had their anxious moments before the team pulled away to win the title in impressive fashion. And the 2005 F.A Cup final win was a painful game to sit through as an Arsenal fan, but somehow against all the odds they actually won that game. The task in front of the current Arsenal team seems quite difficult but in recent years, the team has managed some amazing wins. Keeping those positive memories in mind, as a fan I can only hope that the team is extremely motivated to usher in a new page in Arsenal’s history.