Arsenal’s injury-durbed slump has shades of 2007/08 as they take on Manchester City in title-decider
As the referee blew the final whle at the Emirates on Friday night, most of the Arsenal players sank down to their knees or just laid on the ground. The mental and physical exhaustion was for the world to see as the Gunners came from 2 goals down to draw 3-3 against relegation-threatened Southampton, their 3rd straight stalemate in as many matches.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka reacts after missing a penalty kick in the English Premier League. (AP Photo)
Even though the fightback against the Saints was remarkable, with the never say die attitude that has characterized this young Gunners team on full display, their once unassailable lead in the points table was cut short to just 5 points. Next, they face their title rivals Manchester City on Wednesday, an encounter which will more or less decide the ultimate fate of the Premier League title.
The scenes against Southampton after the full-time whle will no doubt remind the Arsenal faithful about a fateful day in the 2007/2008 season when their talismanic forward Eduardo Da Silva broke his leg and completely derailed their campaign.
Just like this season, the Gunners were ahead 5 points on the table and looked on course to win a first EPL title since the 2004 Invincible season. On a rain-soaked afternoon, Arsene Wenger’s men travelled to Birmingham for a run-of-the-mill clash at St Andrews Stadium. But fate had other ideas. 3 mins into the match, Birmingham City’s Martin Taylor went in for a crunching tackle on Eduardo, leading to a fractured fibula. That was it, Eduardo’s season was over, and in hindsight, so was Arsenal’s title-winning dream.
They would eventually draw the match against Birmingham after taking the lead through a fresh-faced Theo Walcott’s double strikes only to let it slip at the death when Gael Clichy gave away a penalty which was converted James McFadden to tie the scores 2-2. Fast forward to the recent match against Southampton, in a cruel tw of fate, this time around, Walcott was one of the goal scorers for the Saints which might have put an irreversible dent in Arsenal’s title hopes.
Coming back to the 2007/08 season, after losing their star striker, Arsenal would crumble, playing out 3 consecutive draws with Aston Villa, Middlesborough, and Wigan before losing to Chelsea. In an eerie callback, Arteta’s Gunners have also played out draws in their last 3 matches with Liverpool and West Ham this season.
Erling Haaland and Mikel Arteta (Image/ AP)
And just like the 2007/08 season, Arsenal’s recent stutter may also be down to losing one of their key players in centre-back William Saliba. Since the Frenchman’s injury, Arsenal have won just 2 of their last 5 matches while drawing the other 3.
On Wednesday, Arsenal have to travel to the Etihad Stadium for the endgame against Manchester City with their Premier League fortunes dangling a thread. A City team that blew away Sheffield United 3-0 in the FA Cup semifinal, courtesy of a Riyad Mahrez hattrick and made German Giants Bayern Munich look ordinary in the Champions League.
They will also have to contend with the tall, hulking shadow that a certain Norwegian has cast over the fixture. Erling Haaland, who has already scored 32 goals in the league, is just 3 goals away from breaking the all-time Premier League record for most goals of the season, currently held the legendary Alan Shearer and Andy Cole (Both scored 34 goals). And nothing would be sweeter than breaking or equaling that record in a match that will make or break the season.
