When I looked down the fixture list at the start of the season, and saw the last game at home to Everton, a part of me wondered, hoped even, that maybe it would all come down to that familiar scenario again.

It’s not the first time, as long term Arsenal supporters will know, that winning the league has come down to this fixture. As humans we are hardwired to pick out patterns and reasons for the randomness of life, sport is no different, and Arsenal vs Everton in may is one of my favourite such patterns. 

For me it is nostalgic. I remember such a Sunday in May 1998 when with my father, and then best friend, Stuart, travelled the few hours journey from Maidenhead, where we lived, to Highbury. There we sat in the North Bank hoping we would finish the campaign and claim Premiership glory for the first time. I was 9 at the time and so as goal after goal went in as we romped to a 4-0 win, I had no idea really how special those moments were. I will probably never be at the stadium again to see Arsenal lift a trophy.

Everton as that last home game of the season resurfaced 4 seasons later.

I watched this game on sky at home – Stuart was going through his not liking football stage, but Dad was still there. Of course, by this time, everything was done and dusted the game before. The infamous 0-1 at Old Trafford when Sylvan Wiltord tapped in the deflected FeddieLjungberg shot and then, not unlike Sunday, we clung on to claim the league at Old Trafford.

The only drama in this Everton May fixture was if Martin Keown would get on to claim his required number of games for a winners medal. He did, with a few minutes to spare. But once again that home fixture brought us glory – so maybe, just maybe it will this time. 

That’s what we do as football fans don’t we? That’s part of the magic (and to be honest stress) of football. The seeing of patterns significant or superstitious; reading too much into sometimes irrelevant details all building up the drama and passion of the sport that has us hooked. We look for meaning where there is no meaning, and sometimes ignore the inevitable likelihood of stats. 

Of course this pattern searching can work both ways.

We’ve needed a favour from Spurs before, a bigger one if anything. In the 1998/1999 season on the final day where we faced Aston Villa, while ‘they’ played Manchester United. Again I was lucky enough to be at Highbury (back of the west stand this time) and for a glorious period of time it looked like ‘Campbell and co’ were going to do it for us, leading 1-0 before United came back in the second half to claim the league 2-1. Not the pattern we want as we look towards Manchester City vs Spurs on Tuesday night. 

But maybe that is the point; whatever ‘pattern’ there maybe in  the Everton May fixture, whatever link we can make to 1-0 win at Old Trafford two games before the end of the season. Whatever doubts there maybe about Spurs ability to compete with a City mega team; each story in football, each season, each game is unique.

What will happen over the next few days will form it’s own story, as has the 37 games which have gone before.

How it will end, before it is assigned to history, we cannot know – but that’s the point, that’s why we love this beautiful game. That is why come 4pm on Sunday afternoon I, and all gunners fans, will be filled with a irrational tension which can only be explained as football. So, enjoy the ride, give thanks that Arteta has built a team which can now compete, and who knows, maybe just maybe we will taste Premiership glory once more. Come on you Gunners! 

Jon

Jon is a long term Arsenal fan, short term reader of the “she wore” blog. He has enjoyed reading others thoughts at the tail end of this season as we chase Premiership glory.