Arsenal are off to a strong start to the Premier League season, but it certainly seems like the November curse is poised to plague the Gunners yet again.
The North London club haven’t lost a game since the opening round defeat against Liverpool, where the Merseysiders lead 4-1 shortly after the hour mark before goals to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers made the scoreline more respectable.
Since then, Arsenal have disappointingly drawn three Premier League matches, including 0-0 with Middlesborough and most recently a 1-1 draw with cross-town rivals Tottenham Hostpur.
And if the statistics from years gone by are anything to go off, it could be another mediocre finish to the year for Arsene Wenger.
Prior to 2016, Wenger secured just 1.59 points per game and won less than half of his games in charge.
November also has it’s own international break, the dreaded time of year all Arsenal fans pray that no one pulls up injured.
But there was no such luck this year, with Hector Bellerin aggravating his ankle injury in the North London Derby and being forcibly removed from Spain’s under-21’s international squad.
The 21-year-old has been a stalwart for the Arsenal defence and has been tormenting opponents as a versatile wing-back that’s capable of delivering a threatening ball into the box.
Arsenal’s depth will once again be tested, with Carl Jenkinson, Rob Holding and possibly Kieran Gibbs being able to fill in while the Spaniard is sidelined.
Jenkinson suffered an ACL injury last year and is only just returning to fitness, Rob Holding has been in-and-out of the squad since making his impressive debut against Liverpool and Kieran Gibbs hasn’t played many minutes since Nacho Monreal usurped him on the left side of defence.
It isn’t all doom and gloom for the Arsenal defence, but Bellerin’s pace is certainly right up there with the quickest in the Premier League.
To make matters worse, superstar forward Alexis Sanchez made fans hold their breath as he left training early with a suspected thigh injury but returned later in the week with his quad well-strapped.
The Chilean winger-turner-striker has been in phenomenal form for the Gunners, having scored six goals and picked up four assists in the 11 games so far this season.
His conversion to a lone striker has fortunately been a success for Arsene Wenger, with Lucas Perez going down injured, Olivier Giroud only just returning from injury and Danny Welbeck expected to be out until late January.
Hi @Alexis_Sanchez pal can you stop pretending you're a machine and actually get some recovery time. We need you. Thanks.
— TF⁹ (@TheFalseNein) November 12, 2016
It’s hard to fathom, but Arsenal’s poor record in November comes down to more than just injuries.
Critics are quick to point out Arsenal’s lack of mental strength when faced with smaller teams who are tough to break down and it’s easy to justify their shortcomings.
Just last year, the Gunners only won a single game in the month of November, defeating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 in the Champions League after being thrashed 5-1 by Bayern Munich.
In the Premier League, Arsenal drew with Spurs and Norwich and lost 2-1 to West Brom in a game where Santi Cazorla missed a vital penalty late on.
in the 2014-15 season, Arsenal fared only slightly better; beginning and finishing the month with victories but losing to 2-1 to both Swansea and Manchester United.
The most disappointing aspect of the game against United was that Louis Van Gaal fielded inexperienced youngsters Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair.
While Olivier Giroud marked his return from injury (who would’ve guessed it) with a fantastic goal against De Gea, it was too late for Arsenal who lost successive games for the first time since January 2013.
While the Premier League season is as long as it’s unpredictable, Arsenal can hardly afford to drop points so early on against lesser opposition.
The clash against Manchester United this week will be the ultimate test for Arsenal, with Jose Mourinho’s side proving to be one of the most inconsistent in recent memory.
A victory away at Old Trafford could galvanise Wenger’s squad and propel them to the top of the table should results go their way. It would certainly be a boost for the team who hasn’t won at Old Trafford since Danny Welbeck scored the winner in the FA Cup Quarter Finals.
But a loss? As seen in previous years, it could spell the beginning of a disastrous period for Arsenal who are looking to win the Premier League trophy for the first time since going undefeated in the 2003/04 season.
While it remains to be seen how they’ll fare against Manchester United and Bournemouth, Wenger will need to get the absolute best out of his players if he’s to compete with the depth of Chelsea and Manchester City.
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