IF YOU ATTACK, THEY CAPITULATE:

Arsenal reveals much in epic fail (Martin Rogers, 2/05/11, Yahoo! Sports)

The greatest comeback in the history of the English Premier League was also its greatest choke, as Arsenal threw itself out of the title race and snatched an unwanted place in the record books – all in the space of 19 minutes of madness. [...]

Newcastle took advantage of the mindless actions of Arsenal defender Abou Diaby, who earned himself a red card by throwing opponent Joey Barton to the ground. Yet even shorthanded, there is no way Arsenal should have even come close to surrendering the lead they built on the strength of goals from Theo Walcott, Johan Djourou and two from Robin Van Persie.

There is a weakness of mind about Arsenal that creeps in from time to time, however, and it likely stems from a lack of overall experience. Wenger has pieced together a team capable of playing an open, entertaining and generally effective style, but there was not a single soul prepared to stand tall when things got rough on Saturday.

They're supposed to be not just grown men but professional athletes, yet if you put your opponent under pressure in soccer they will more than likely collapse.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 5, 2011 2:03 PM