The Run In

The last time Arsenal won the league was the season The Invincibles won - the 2003/2004 season. For the past twenty two-odd years, this team has pretty constantly finished in the top four, as well as winning five FA Cups along the way. More recently, Arsenal have finished in second place three years in a row, with this year being marked as the year they finally get over the hump and get their hands on the Premier League Trophy.

With the weight of twenty two years on the shoulders of Arsenal, I never thought this season was going to be a walk in the park. I figured we were going to get something closer to a marathon in 90 degree weather, where half of the roads have collapsed and people aren't there to give you water on the sidelines, but a shot of warm Jameson instead (please don't ever sign me up for that).

As we approach the end of the season, with 12 Premier League games to go, I can confirm that the season has felt like the marathon from hell. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but if you have watched this season as closely as I have, I would think you may feel similar. In reality, this was always going to be a season of ups and downs, especially as the team comes to terms with ghosts of the past three years. Winning this league is no easy feat and I personally think it may be as hard as it ever has been, due to the improvements of teams outside of the traditional big six. 

After last nights 1-1 draw with Brentford, my emotional reaction was that the title was slowly slipping away from us. It was hard to get away from this feeling, especially as our lead at the top shrunk to four points. Once I woke up this morning and had some time to digest the result, I had this overriding feeling that this was going to be our year. I'm not sure if it is cautious optimism or delusion at this point, but all I know is that I trust the lads. 

Between the Premier League and the Champions League so far, Arsenal have won 25 games, drew 6, and lost 3. If you had told me that was going to be our record in both competitions up until this point, I would have been on cloud nine. The fact of the matter is that the league is still in our hands. We are 4 points clear at the summit, all while our best player and skipper have been far from their best. The boys know what they have to do. Go out there and prove to the rest of the league that Arsenal deserve to hold that Premier League trophy at the end of the year. The low hanging fruit is ready for the taking - be sure not to miss it!