It was somewhat appropriate Arsenal's weekus horribilus came around Halloween, although Arsene Wenger may have been reflecting on other things after his club's 2-1 loss to Stoke.
Without doubt, things could hardly have gone worse for the Gunners last week. They gave up the points midweek against hated North London rival Tottenham, conceding a two-goal lead in a classic 4-4 draw. They lost skipper William Gallas to a hamstring injury that kept him out of the Stoke match along with Theo Walcott, Bacary Sagna and Emmanuel Adebayor, who were all injured during that encounter, while Robin van Persie is now suspended after copping a red card.
To make matters worse, supporters found themselves smiling and applauding news that Spurs had got up over Liverpool. The fans were grimly aware this is the only reason Arsenal's still in the Premiership hunt this season.
This was meant to be the year when all Wenger's best-laid plans bore fruit. A promising third-placed finish in 2007-08 could, with a little luck, have been a Premiership title. But, 11 matches into the new campaign, the Gunners are floundering on the back of a serious injury crisis, having lost as many matches so far this season as they did for the entire 2007-08 season. Worse still, none of these losses have come against other "Big Four" clubs. This suggests there's some intrinsic problems at the Emirates and those issues seem unlikely to be solved this week, either, as Manchester United comes to the capital.
Following the Stoke loss, Potters' goalkeeper Tomas Sorensen declared Arsenal didn't have the "spine" for a tilt at the title. The Danish stopper, who has already played against Chelsea and Liverpool as a form of comparison, said Arsenal lacked the physicality of real title contenders and of times gone by as the Gunners were bumped off the ball by Stoke. He also said the Gunners went out there expecting to win and, having gone behind, didn't have the bottle to drag themselves from the mire.
Although Sorensen's comments maybe a little harsh, there are certainly elements of truth there. In terms of physicality, there's no doubt Arsenal was committed going into this match, but, for all its pretty passing, there seems very little decisiveness about Arsenal's general play.
This could come down to manpower, for a quick comparison with times gone by suggests an Arsenal side built around Manuel Almunia, William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor is far inferior to one featuring the likes of David Seaman, Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.
Those players had the ability to force the play or grab that uncanny goal and this seems to be a quality lacking in the Gunners' current model. They were also much more imposing at a physical level, with one assuming a Stoke player would have more concerns with stopping Vieira in full flight than a Fabregas, for instance.
But the main inference from Sorensen's comments seems to be that Arsenal lacked the leadership required to turn around a match. Such leadership lifts the spirits when a team is down and ensures it remains solid at the back when it's 4-2 ahead against Tottenham. Sadly, it seems Gallas isn't this leader, although admittedly he wasn't playing against the Potters.
Wenger, though, seems to have made several mistakes with his captains since Vieira's departure to Juventus at the end of 2004-05.
Henry, for all his brilliance, always seemed a little too selfish to be an effective captain and his failings in this role possibly hastened his move to Barcelona. Gilberto Silva desperately wanted to lead the side but was denied by Wenger, who opted for Gallas instead. This denial of Silva also accelerated his exit from the club and may have even contributed to the departure of key midfielder Aleksandr Hleb, whose contributions were a major part of Arsenal's winning run last season.
Wenger's transfer policies do not aid effective leadership. Sure, it's great to recruit and develop young stars while gaining healthy transfer profits, but young stars don't make immediate leaders, something this club desperately needed going into 2008-09.
Wenger has some excuses. Following the Stoke match, he said his players were exhausted by a crammed schedule and were physically incapable of more creativity in their play. He said exhaustion also made them less agile and more vulnerable to Stoke's physically intimidating style, leading to the injuries. There may be some merit in Wenger's comments as Champions League and midweek Premiership fixtures are obviously a strain on the body, but it's only about to get worse because by November 15 Arsenal will have played six matches in 21 days, including fixtures against Manchester United and Aston Villa.
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