In recent seasons, Arsenal have started to settle into a pattern of making a late flourish when all seems lost, but then performing even more poorly in the next campaign.
The final stretch of each season seems to lull fans into a false sense of security, making them think everything isn’t as bad as it appeared. It never lasts though. Let’s take a look at the last four seasons to illustrate the point.
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This season didn’t start too badly, but from December to April Arsenal’s league form fell to pieces. It started with two defeats in a week to Everton and Manchester City, and ended with chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” at Selhurst Park.
By that stage Wenger’s side were sixth, and still reeling from a 10-2 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The manager’s job looked almost impossible to save. His contract was expiring at the end of the season, and Arsenal would have to beat two of Manchester City, Chelsea and Spurs to win the only trophy still available. Plus their top four chances were disappearing fast.
They then won seven of the final eight league games, including beating Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, grabbing a rare win away to Stoke and overcoming the odds to beat Everton with 10 men on the final day. It wasn’t quite enough, and Liverpool took the final Champions League spot by a point.
The FA Cup dream stayed alive though, with Arsenal finishing off City in injury time to set up a date with Premier League Champions Chelsea in May. The team silenced the doubters with a 2-1 victory in the final and set a new record for FA Cup wins.
It was a pretty terrible season, but still ended on a high point, and Wenger got a contract extension not long afterwards.