Arsenal: Are the Gunners in danger of repeating history?
In 2008, Arsene Wenger’s team finished top with 63 points, well ahead of Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in second place.
Like this season, his 27th game involved a trip to the West Midlands to face a team battling relegation – in that case, Alex McLeish’s Birmingham City.
Eduardo, the striker for Arsenal, suffered a horrific injury.
After a horrific injury to Arsenal striker Eduardo and a goal from 10-man Birmingham’s James McFadden, 18-year-old Theo Walcott scored his first Premier League goal to put the leaders 2–1 ahead in injury time.
But a foul by Gael Clichy meant the Gunners conceded a penalty and allowed McFadden to score a 95th-minute equaliser – just a minute after Tom Edozie had scored for Wolves on Wednesday.
After drawing a game they had dominated, Arsenal’s defender William Gallas famously sat on the pitch in what Match of the Day commentator Jonathan Pearce described as “a state of disbelief.”
Fast forward 18 years, and Arsenal had a disappointing 2-2 draw at Wolves on Wednesday.
By injury time they were once again ahead 2-1.
This time it was not a penalty, but in the 94th minute Gunners defender Riccardo Calafiori converted a shot from debutant Tom Edoji into his own net.
While Gabriel Jesus’ shoving of Yerson Mosquera on Wednesday was nowhere near dramatic, it shows that many Arsenal players were similarly stunned and disappointed after the final whistle in that game.
A 2–2 draw on 23 February 2008 meant that their lead at the top was reduced to just three points when Manchester United won 5–1 at Newcastle, while Wednesday night’s result gives Manchester City the chance to reduce the gap to just two points if they win their game.
The current Arsenal side will hope the similarities end there. The Gunners won only one of their next seven Premier League games 18 years ago.
Such poor results saw them drop to third place, nine points behind new leaders Manchester United.
Despite winning their last four games, Arsenal finished the season in third place with 83 points, four points behind champions Manchester United and two behind runners-up Chelsea.
