Premier League: Will Arsenal fall to a familiar failing in the home stretch?

December is the usual month of joy and hope for Arsenal. Last season, they ended December four points clear of Manchester City at the top of the league table. This season, they have winked in the month by stretching the lead at the helm to five points, though fellow contenders City and Liverpool both have a game in hand. But a relatively hassle-less run till the end of this month — a trip to the intimidating Anfield aside — means Arsenal could head to the break as leaders.

But the Arsenal faithful would still be guarded in nursing hopes of landing their first title since the Invincible season of 2003-04, for such has been their storied history of freezing in the home stretch.
Notorious second-half slump

There is no better example than last season, Arsenal helmed the league for 248 days. playing a simple yet vibrant brand of football. In mid-January last season, Mikel Arteta’s men enjoyed an eight-point cushion over City, yet the latter not just surpassed them but kissed the title with three games to spare. There were several reasons — fatigue crept in, intensity creaked, pressure kicked in, even as the supremely-willed City strung together 11 wins in a row, whereas Arsenal dropped nine points in four games across 17 days in April.

Some of the seasoned, fate-hardened Arsenal supporters could feel history repeating cruelly. Arsenal featured four times in the list of losing the premier league title after leading the table for more than 125 days (2002-03; 2007-08, 2013-14 and 2022-23). So their hope and optimism is guarded, even though Arsenal is exuding the mettle of champions in eking out points over the past few weeks.

Hardened by setbacks

Setbacks would only toughen good teams. Last season, Arsenal’s twinkle-toed