Arsenal: Are the Gunners in danger of repeating history?

Back in 2008, Arsene Wenger’s team was at the top of the standings with 63 points, far ahead of Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in second place.

Similar to this season, their 27th match included a trip to the West Midlands to face a team battling relegation – in this case, Alex McLeish’s Birmingham City.

After a horrific injury to Arsenal striker Eduardo and a goal from Birmingham’s 10-man James McFadden, 18-year-old Theo Walcott scored his first Premier League goal to leave the leaders 2-1 up heading into stoppage time.

But a foul by Gael Clichy earned Arsenal a penalty and allowed McFadden to score an equalizer in the 95th minute – just a minute after the goal Tom Edozie scored for Wolves on Wednesday.

After drawing a game they dominated, Arsenal defender William Gallas sat on the pitch in what Match of the Day commentator Jonathan Pearce described as a “state of disbelief”.

Fast forward 18 years and we have Arsenal’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Wolves on Wednesday.

Once again they led 2-1 going into stoppage time.

It was not a penalty kick this time, but in the 94th minute, Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiore accidentally turned Tom Edozzi’s shot into his own net.

While Gabriel Jesus’ shoving of Yerson Mosquera on Wednesday was nowhere near as dramatic, it shows that many Arsenal players were similarly stunned and frustrated after the final whistle in that game.

That 2-2 draw on 23 February 2008 saw their lead at the top reduced to just three points as Manchester United won 5-1 over Newcastle, while Wednesday night’s result gave Manchester City the chance to close the gap to just two points if they won their game in hand.

The current Arsenal team will hope the similarities end there. The Gunners went on to win just one of their next seven Premier League matches in 18 years.

This poor run of results saw them drop to third place, nine points behind new leaders Manchester United.

Despite winning their last four matches, Arsenal finished the season in third place with 83 points, four points behind champions Manchester United and two behind runners-up Chelsea.