If it feels familiar, it is because it is. It is yet another test of Arsenal’s mettle. Yet another game where they have to demonstrate they have the temperament to accompany their undoubted talent.
After a nine-year wait for a trophy, the burden of proof forever rests with Arsenal. They have to prove themselves more often than most.
And so another week brings another test. With Arsenal’s title hopes fading swiftly and Uefa Champions League elimination this week likely, the FA Cup probably represents their last chance to secure silverware. The quarter-final against Everton on Saturday becomes another occasion where Arsenal will be under the microscope. As ever, there will be plenty of pundits eager to confirm their suspicion that Arsene Wenger’s side are mentally frail and doomed to fail on the major stage.
Yet, if they believe they have plenty of evidence, it is partly due to the sheer volume of big games. It is rare any teams plays as many in one season, certainly before reaching a final.
Those complaining about the Premier League fixture list deserve little sympathy; everyone has to play each other home and away. But Arsenal’s case is different: while Wenger has been outwardly stoic, he could be forgiven for privately feeling they have been unfortunate.
Everton follow Liverpool and Tottenham among Arsenal's FA Cup opponents. Their League Cup campaign ended against Chelsea. Thus far, they have been pitted against Marseille, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
That has meant a dozen seismic games added to the 12 they could expect against top-seven opposition in the Premier League. It is hard to avoid the thought that if Arsenal beat Everton, they will face Manchester City in the FA Cup and that, in the improbable event of them eliminating Bayern in Europe, their reward will be a meeting with Real Madrid or Barcelona.
That, it seems, is the way their season is destined to go. There is no release, no respite, no chance to catch their breath, rest their premier players or ease others into the side.
It has been particularly difficult because, for the last five months, the various competitions have buffeted them between elite opponents. In October and November, they had a sequence that read: Chelsea, Liverpool, Dortmund, Manchester United. Then came the December run of Everton, Napoli, City, Chelsea.
More recently, February brought clashes with Liverpool, United, Liverpool again and Bayern before, and interrupted only by the win over Sunderland and the visit to their bogey team Stoke, a manic March where Everton, Bayern, Tottenham, Chelsea and City await.
It is an extended examination, a test conducted – if the annual assessment at Stoke is included – over 900 minutes, rather than the standard 90. It is little wonder, either, that Arsenal are showing signs of fatigue. They already haveplayed more major matches than most clubs do in an entire season.
The latest may depend on whether Wenger deems Mesut Ozil ready to return to the starting 11 and if the German can banish the memory of his missed penalty against Bayern, together with the question of whether Olivier Giroud has recovered from the battering he took at the Britannia Stadium.
While Wenger’s failure to sign an established striker either last summer or in January looks still more of a mistake than it appeared at the time, fewer of Arsenal’s other problems are of their own making. A demanding schedule has been married with a crippling injury list.
Theo Walcott’s season has ended with the winger playing in just five of those 24 (and possibly more) season-defining games. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has played in only four, to date. Aaron Ramsey will miss a sixth in succession.
Without them, the weight on Ozil’s slim shoulders has been greater, the reliance on Giroud all the more pronounced. It is why, should Arsenal finally secure that elusive trophy, there should be no question that they have earned it. This season has been a never-ending exercise in doing things the hard way.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
The five pillars of Islam
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
A cryptocurrency primer for beginners
Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies – by Kiana Danial
There are several primers for investing in cryptocurrencies available online, including e-books written by people whose credentials fall apart on the second page of your preferred search engine.
Ms Danial is a finance coach and former currency analyst who writes for Nasdaq. Her broad-strokes primer (2019) breaks down investing in cryptocurrency into baby steps, while explaining the terms and technologies involved.
Although cryptocurrencies are a fast evolving world, this book offers a good insight into the game as well as providing some basic tips, strategies and warning signs.
Begin your cryptocurrency journey here.
Available at Magrudy’s , Dh104
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Liz%20Truss
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Results
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix - 3:45:47
2. David Dekker (NED) Jumbo-Visma - same time
3. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
4. Emils Liepins (LAT) Trek-Segafredo
5. Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis
6. Tadej Pogacar (SLO UAE Team Emirates
7. Anthony Roux (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
8. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:00:03
9. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep
10. Fausto Masnada (ITA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
Company%20Profile
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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ARGYLLE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Matthew%20Vaughn%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Bryce%20Dallas%20Howard%2C%20Sam%20Rockwell%2C%20John%20Cena%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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