Against all odds

So we are underdogs this season, and some people are writing us off. Well I am delighted, because it is the only chance we have got of winning anything. We are The Arsenal, and we do not do things the easy way do we?

1967 – League Cup Final. (Do not scoff kids, up until the mid to late 90's this was a real competition that was considered a major trophy). Anyway, you've got to have us as underdogs against perennial bridesmaids Leeds but they win 1-0.

1968 – League Cup Final. Now here's where it starts. We're playing 3rd Div Swindon Town for goodness sake so it's an easy trophy. Except no one told Swindon who won 3-1.

1970 – Fairs Cup. After losing the away leg of the Final 1-3 against a star-studded Anderlecht we've no chance in the return. Except we win 3-0 and take the trophy.

1971 – League. Not only did we have to come from behind and chase down Leeds with a fantastic run through March/April/May but also it all came down to one game against our (then) serious rivals from down the lane. A win or no score draw in a cauldron would bring us the title. 1-0 to the Arsenal!

1971 – FA Cup. Not only do we have the ultimate potential banana skin of an away trip to non-league Yeovil to overcome, but also replay wins against Leicester and Portsmouth before we find ourselves 2-0 down in the semi with time running out. Pull one back then Peter Storey has to score a last minute penalty against Gordon Banks ('the world's greatest keeper'). Not to mention going down in extra time of the final and clawing it back.

1972 – FA Cup. Leeds again. You'd probably have to call this game fairly even, with us being slight favourites. 0-1.

1978 – FA Cup. Ipswich! With hindsight they had a great team around the time but we were run away favourites. Unless the whole squad suffered a flu epidemic in the run up to the final, and half of them carried injuries we'd be fine. Oh, 0-1.

1979 – FA Cup. It's the mancs so obviously (despite logic) they were favourites. Good job too. 2-0 up, five to go, Cup won. 2-2, two to go and we're down and beaten. Extra time and the cups going to the northwest. Brady Rix Sunderland 3-2.

1980 – FA Cup. West Ham of the Second Division. 0-1. Nuff said.

1980 – European Cup Winners Cup. I was 13. I was in Belgium watching Arsenal in a European final. I was heartbroken. We lost.

1987 – League Cup. Liverpool. The Liverpool that for the 70's and 80's was THE best around. Against a bunch of kids with a few old heads. And they had Ian Rush. He'd never appeared on a losing Liverpool side when he'd scored. And score he did. In a 2-1 Arsenal win.

1988 – League Cup. Well the team that would win two of the next three titles wouldn't have a problem against little old Luton Town. And despite battering them and missing a penalty (or maybe because of) we lost 2-3.

1989 – League. 'George Knows' the banner would say. And he really did. His young bucks were leading the title race coming into the final stretch (c. Clichés Inc.) ahead of (that) Liverpool, but he knew. Three games left. Homes against a good Derby and a mid-table Wimbledon. Four points (out of four) would be enough, but George knew. He managed to get the team to only gain one point from those two games. That left us with the absolutely impossible job of going to Liverpool, our main rivals (ok – then we were their rivals) who just didn't lose, especially at home, and certainly not by the two clear goals we needed to wrestle the title away. Not just against the odds but dammed impossible. Not only a 2-0 win, but the (title) winner in injury time as well! George – he knew. And don't ever forget what they did to Davo. Playing some of the best football of his career Paul Davis (for whatever reason) dropped a beauty on (the much larger) Cockerills jaw. To say it was out of character is about an obvious statement as saying water is wet. An exemplary record didn't stop the first player to be charged on tv evidence getting an absolutely unprecedented 9-match ban!

1991 – League. Go on. Take two points off us. We understand that other teams can take two points off us (it was still 2 for a win then) and we understand that since we're Arsenal the FA is against us. But they don't normally take two points off a title challenger! And then the law go and bang up our captain for a while (I've got to go personal so you don't get this wrong. Drink driving is abhorrent. Absolutely and completely. Only in the most extreme of circumstances is there any chance of justifying it. But I also detest unequal justice in any form. TA was wrong and deserved to be punished, but the Arsenal captain and England international who's trial date was changed to match the start of the governments xmas anti drink drive campaign was always going to get the rough end of sentencing compared to Joe Bloggs). Well they're starting on us early this term so we've got to really show them. One defeat, 18 goals conceded (next best 40!), an FA Cup semi (where we were favourites against the Spuds and odds on for the double but flaming well blew it. I knew then I'd never see Arsenal win a Double in the flesh. Well, thought I did) and despite the deduction we still won the title by seven points! Odds, we shit 'em!

1992 - League. We're amazing. We're favourites with everyone. We're even built up as serious challengers for the European Cup (and not just in the English Press). Then the season starts. Goes wrong. Bugger.

1993 – FA and League Cup. Most pundits had Sheffield Wednesday down as the favourites because they 'played better football'. After we'd beaten them in the League Cup they were even more favourite for the FA Cup as obviously one team would win each. A boring Final is followed by a boring replay and boring extra time. But with penalties seconds away we score the winner. And our two Cup winning goalscorers? Steve Morrow and Andy Linighan – what odds there?

1994 – Cup Winners Cup. Underdogs for most rounds we battled our way through to the final, where we were even bigger underdogs against the holders Parma who featured the (then) frightening attack of Brolin, Asprilla and Zola. Add to that the fact that both our defensive midfielders (Jensen and Keown) would miss the game through injury leaving the incredibly inexperienced duo of Morrow and Selley to accompany Davis in midfield. Also add on the fact that cup talisman Ian Wright was suspended for the final. And you could also add on the fact that our keeper Seaman was playing with 'body armour' to protect his broken ribs, and needed pain killing injections before the game and at half time. Add that all together and you get... 1-0 to the Arsenal!

1995 – Cup Winners Cup. Graham had gone but the team still battled to the Final (against Real Zaragoza). Now obviously after that battle we'd win the Final, becoming the first team ever to retain the cup. Not. 1-2.

1998 – League and FA Cup. You can't get much more underdog than a bookie paying out on your opponents. That's what one bookie did, just as we went on a virtually unprecedented (well at other clubs anyway) run of victories to win the title. As for the FA Cup, well okay we were favourites against Newcastle, but it was Newcastle! They haven't won anything for so long that their fans walk out of clubs before the raffle is drawn!

2001 – FA Cup Final. Liverpool. Favourites, and showed on the day why we were. Until the last ten minutes. 1-2.

2002 – League and FA Cup. The drunken jocks empire had won the last three titles, virtually without opposition. According to the pundits this year would be no different. Again it took an amazing run by Arsenal in the spring to win the title – at Old Trafford. Oh how we laughed, like barbarians storming the gates of Rome the Empire was sacked. Days before the FA Cup had been almost a side thought – many pundits having a (pre-mafia) Chelsea as favourites, the logic being we'd be distracted. It's only Ray Parlour...and Freddie Ljungberg. 2-0.

2003 – FA Cup. OK, we were favourites to beat Southampton but we'd been favourites for the league most of the season and just seen everything crash down on us. 1-0.

2004 – League. They laughed at us at the start of the season. Some sniggered over whether Arsène would go a whole league season unbeaten. Well they sniggered at the start of the season anyway. To be honest if we're talking about against the odds, then an unbeaten league season must be pretty damn high on the list. Even with the title wrapped up and only a couple of games left pundits were still convinced we would lose a game, because it was impossible to go a season unbeaten. HA!

2005 – FA Cup. Ok, we were favourites for the league at the start. How could the Invincibles of 2004 NOT win the league? But you know. Then in the FA Cup final we beat the Mancs, playing some of the most unlikely football ever under Wenger.

So this season we're underdogs.

Big underdogs.

We're about to fall apart apparently.

Just the way I like it!

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