Arsenal And Arsene Wenger Personifying Insanity

Arsene Wenger and Arsenal were once again the victims of their own complacency, personifying insanity by continually making the same mental mistakes.

There have been many issues that have plagued Arsenal in recent seasons under Arsene Wenger. Their defensive frailty and ill-discipline, their lack of depth at crucial positions and their continual struggle with debilitating and long-lasting injuries.

All have seen potentially title-winning seasons falter at crucial stages and once again, this year is set to the see the same frustrating results play out. After the 2-1 loss to Watford at the Emirates on Tuesday night saw the gap at the top stretch to nine points, it is now impossible to envisage the Gunners hauling their way back into title contention with anything less than a win on Saturday when they travel to Stamford Bridge to face a seemingly relentless Chelsea.

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Perhaps what was so frustrating regarding the loss on Tuesday was the missed opportunity that it represented. With neither Manchester club playing til Wednesday night, Tottenham only drawing away at Sunderland and Chelsea and Liverpool playing out an even 1-1 draw at Anfield, no other title-chasing team gained significant ground.

Had Arsenal won, they would have shrunk the gap to just six points – with the crucial weekend’s tie upcoming -. would lie in second place in the league and be hitting form at just the crucial moments. As things stand, however, the loss slips them below Spurs, just one point ahead of Liverpool and four ahead of Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola’s men boasting a game in hand.

It was a night in which their Premier League hopes all but disappeared and there are a host of causes for their problems. The most infuriating thing is the repetitive nature of those causes. Like the aforementioned issues with defensive frailties and injuries at crucial positions, Arsenal have once again fallen foul to their mental weakness, their lack of toughness and their inability to grind out the hard-earned victories.

Watford took advantage of Wenger and his side’s complacency. Despite Wenger himself rejecting such notions in his post-match press conference, claiming that he was happy with his team’s preparation before the game, it was clear to see in an obsequious first-half display that he and his team were not fully committed to the game, perhaps with an eye on the upcoming Chelsea tie.

Next: Arsenal Vs Watford: 5 Things We Learned

They say insanity is undertaking the same action repeatedly and expecting different results. That seems like an apt delineation of the faltering season after the loss to Watford on Tuesday.

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