COMMENT: Both Chelsea and Manchester United have conquered the Britannia en route to the title in recent years but the fragile Gunners have only once emerged with three points

By Rich Jolly

Arsenal are not just a football club. They have become a verb, an adjective, a damning accusation. Less than two weeks ago, Arsenal were so very Arsenal as they out-Arsenalled themselves.

They dominated possession, created chances, missed them, conceded goals in predictably embarrassing fashion and lost to a rival. Manchester United’s victory at the Emirates Stadium brought suggestions that it might be the end of an era for Arsene Wenger.

What followed was very Arsenal, too. Whenever they seem on the brink of crisis, they rally. They illustrate that the idea they were in meltdown was a hysterical overreaction. Three wins and three clean sheets against Borussia Dortmund, West Brom and Southampton amount to an emphatic response. Rather than going into freefall, they have climbed back up the table.

In its own way, it was entirely typical. And this is the Arsenal paradox. Despite the stereotype of a team with mental frailties, they have won plenty of pressure games over the years. Those 18 successive top-four finishes and the 15 consecutive years they have qualified from the Champions League group stage have included many a must-win match and incorporated hundreds of nail-biting moments.

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