How long can Arsene Wenger deal with Arsenal’s Groundhog Day?

A recent dip in Arsenal’s league form can only have left Arsene Wenger and the team’s fans with a familiar sinking feeling.

It can’t be easy being an Arsenal fan, and it must be even more difficult being the team’s manager Arsene Wenger. For going on 12 seasons now, everybody looking on has seen the same patterns repeat themselves.

Arsenal last won a Premier League title in 2003-04, following on from an incredible and unique undefeated season where they picked up 26 wins and 12 draws in their domestic league.

Arsenal have also failed to advance beyond the last 16 of the Champions League since 2009-10, a damning snapshot of how the club has underachieved in recent years.

Arsenal fans hunger for a trophy may have been appeased slightly with back-to-back FA Cup wins, but that really isn’t how they should be measuring themselves. That’s not the standard that rivals like Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City hold themselves to.

2015-16 represented a season of great promise, as the Gunners have managed to put together the most talented squad that North London has seen in years, but a disappointing spell in recent weeks is threatening to derail their chances on multiple fronts again.

Arsenal only picked up one win throughout the month of November, a vital 3-0 home win over lowly Dinamo Zagreb that kept their hopes of advancing in the Champions League alive.

The remaining games encapsulated the recurring frustrations that the club can cause with their inconsistency.

After defeating the mighty Bayern Munich 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium only two weeks beforehand, Arsenal wouldn’t have expected to be torn apart by the German giants in the fashion that they were in the return fixture. The English club left Munich with their tail between their legs after a 5-1 humbling.

Losing to one of the two undisputed best club sides in the world is one thing, though, but it’s the careless slip-ups in the league that should really sting Wenger and his troops.

Although there’s nothing to be ashamed of in sharing a draw with bitter rivals Tottenham in a hotly contested North London derby, it’s the way in which they’ve faltered against lower caliber opposition in the time since that is truly costly.

First up, Arsenal matched up against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns with a chance to capitalize on mistakes from their rivals and move to the top of the Premier League table.

Arsenal had 73 percent of the ball, 11 attempts to West Brom’s four, and even a one-goal lead, yet they lost the game 2-1.

After the match Arsene Wenger commented:

"It was a very bad afternoon for us. We had 70% possession, we scored an own goal, we missed a penalty, we gave away a goal from a set-piece, that is perfect to make the afternoon a nightmare.At 1-0 we had just to make sure they did not come back with an easy goal and that’s where we were guilty, because apart from that I cannot fault the team who gave what they could until the last minute. We produced enough to win the game."

A week later, Arsenal had an opportunity to redeem themselves. On the road to yet another of the league’s supposed weaker teams, the Gunners were presented with the chance to tie Manchester City in first place with a win over Norwich City.

Arsenal took the lead on the 30-minute mark, but would concede an equalizer before half time that would round out the game’s goals. Another opportunity gone.

Wenger lamented his team’s lack of sharpness post-game, but regardless of the excuse, he must have felt himself being dragged back into a feeling he’s had in years past.

"In the second-half Norwich had good chances and we were playing against a team that is physically clever, they defended deep to catch us on the counter attack and we were a bit jaded, not as sharp as usual."

Wenger is one of the greatest coaches that the game of football has ever seen. Nicknamed “The Professor” upon his arrival in England, his influence on tactics and style of play across the world can’t be underestimated, and his overall success with the club is beyond doubt.

It would be fair to accuse Wenger and his players of having put the quality of their play above a more pragmatic approach that could have driven them to further success down the years, but then again, there’s always more to the story than that.

Wenger has this great ability to put exceptionally talented groups of players together, yet it’s often the team’s collective mentality that lets them down.

Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira and Freddy Ljungberg had enough ability to beat any team on the planet back in 2003-04, but it was the resilience they had which allowed them to stay undefeated.

In the years since, Arsenal’s squads haven’t necessarily dropped off in core talent, but questions do need to be asked over why players like Robin Van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri were able to win major silverware at other clubs, yet couldn’t bring a league title to Arsenal.

That has to be the sort of thought that rankles in the back of Arsene Wenger’s mind from time to time, and at 66 years old, it would be no surprise if that made him consider how much longer he wants to continue in management.

What’s likely motivating Wenger to continue at present is his construction of another exceptionally talented squad, spearheaded by world-class players like Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla and Petr Cech.

Those players have all proven they can perform on the biggest stages in the game, and won many of the biggest accolades the sport has to offer. For Arsenal fans, the bigger question has to be was it the mentality of those players that drove their previous teams to victory, or was at the strength of the teammates around them.

If Arsenal and Arsene Wenger don’t want their recent history to continue to repeat itself they need to ensure that their squad doesn’t have a soft core.

If it turns out that it does, Arsenal will miss out on an opportunity to win the most open Premier League in years, and it would seem like Arsene Wenger would have plenty of cause to pause and to consider his future.

It’s time for the Gunners to prove that they can break away from their past failings.