The unique fear of Arsenal fans

It's been a while since I blogged, is that a word? Is now. Last time I was debating the ethics of the press, this time it's back to the football. Well sort of.

After Sunderland sent Arsenal packing from this years FA Cup I was reminded of an old idea I had when I was a kid. That Arsenal supporters of my generation didn't know what it was like to support a rubbish team and as such had no idea what failure truly felt like.

This, unfortunately for them, may now be coming to pass. They have already endured the greater part of a decade without winning anything and watching their team slip further behind their rivals, a trend which shows no signs of abating.

The situation is unique. Since SKY catapulted English football to economic prominence and the inception of the Premier League, there has not been a team which has gone from doubles and domination to abject failure and laughing stock. Until Arsenal.

Having spent so long mocking Spurs for being utterly mediocre and laughable in comparison the unique fear that must now be emerging in Gooners is that they may well be heading towards that which they so derided in the past.

To be honest I don't think they could ever be as awful as the Spurs teams of the late 90's early 00's but in the modern premier league era it must be the bitterest of pills to swallow to watch a team go from such a position of power to being mid-table cannon fodder. Especially when your noisy neighbours are making an absolute racket.

I'm not predicting the end of Arsenal. I'm not even saying that there has been the far-too-much-talked-about 'power shift' in North London. I'm merely observing a unique and very uncomfortable period in the history of one of England's big teams.

Toner's prediction: Arsenal finish 6th and Wenger 'moved upstairs' in the summer.

Follow/insult me on Twitter @johnedwardtoner