No team has toyed with the Premier League title without success as many times as Arsene Wenger and his precious Gunners have in recent memory; is 2016/17 finally going to be a title winning campaign or is the Gooner nation set for another tease ride?

Well, if the football odds were any indication, Arsenal fans are set for another tease ride. Don’t shoot the messenger…

Most football betting platforms price Arsenal at 6/1 to win the Premier League title ahead of match day 12 while others (such as Coral, Betway and Sportingbet, to name a few) have Arsenal backed out to 13/2.

Manchester City are level with Arsenal in the table (24 points) but remain the favourites to win the title at 2/1 at the football betting exchange. Meanwhile, current leaders Liverpool (26) are priced at 13/2 while Chelsea (second in the table on 25 points) are priced at 3/1.

Few can be surprised or upset at the market outlook, even if Arsenal are well and truly in the frame, sat fourth in the table and just two points adrift of Jurgen Klopp and his Heavy Metal Reds at the league’s summit.

Past trends are difficult to forget; like a seductive coquette flirting with your fancy, the Gunners have lured their loyal fans and football betting enthusiasts the world over to reach into their wallets only to leave them bereft and significantly light of pocket.

Why, only recently, Arsenal demonstrated a prelude to what may come down the stretch, perhaps.

In second position on match day 8, Arsenal deposited the kind of toothless performance against Middlesbrough at the Emirates that was sure to conjure sepia-toned memories of previous failed title runs. A couple rounds later a 1-1 draw to the Spurs plummeted Arsenal down to fourth-place and in market estimation.

Granted it’s but 12 laps around England’s top-flight. There’s lots of football to be played yet, the baton passed around many times from club to club as they vie for the ultimate prize. Arsenal are sure to be among those eagerly passing it.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me, so goes the maxim.

We can’t count the amount of times Arsenal have flattered to deceive. When you’re wise to Arsenal, after many campaigns that promised grandeur fell to naught, isn’t it time to move on? Perhaps, the smart bet for any football betting fan is to simply back Arsenal to finish in the top four. After all, they have a deathly grip on it and at a fair 4/9, a price available with bet365, Coral and Sportingbet, it’s decent value worth the tickle on your football wagers.