6 Games That Cost Arsenal The Double

It has been almost a week since our FA Cup triumph and the majority of Arsenal supporters are still riding high. In the main, 2013/14 can be considered a very successful season for Arsenal especially after 9 barren years. However, it is understandable that there are a few who are a little saddened it wasn't more as we promised so much for so long in the league.

Of course, Arsenal suffered terribly from injuries to key players and the winter transfer window was not what many expected but few top class players move in January and most logical people understand that it was highly unlikely Arsenal were going to tempt away a player like Diego Costa for example - especially when Atletico were chasing the title (which they eventually won).

The big games, City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton away were drubbings we would love to forget and whilst it is imperative, if only for our own mentality, Arsenal improves in these games next season, they probably weren't the main cause for Arsenal missing out on the title and what would have been a glorious double.

Arsenal could have lost all of those games 1-0 to 89th minute penalties with referees that blatantly favoured the other team and still have finished in the same position. Arsenal fans are rightly aggreived by the manner of those defeats and maybe that is why they place so much importance on those dropped points over other teams. If Arsenal had still lost, given our alternative manner of defeat, then the fans probably would not be pointing to those games as our title losers. 1-0, 6-0, 5-1 or 6-3, a loss is a loss but Arsenal could still have won the title with those defeats if it wasn't for six five games.

Arsenal 1 - Aston Villa 3

Arsenal started the season in the worst possible way - with a home defeat. The aftermath of the game saw probably the biggest split in the Arsenal camp during the past 9 years with blogs, podcasts and YouTube videos blasting Arsenal, the manager and the board for the loss and similar from others proclaiming the game to have been lost by the referee.

With a cup in the bag and 50+ games between then and now it is hard to disagree with the second group. Distance should have given us clarity and serenity and with those we can fairly say that Anthony Taylor had a shocker - his first of many in the Premier League in 2013/14 - and were it not for two dubious penalties completely winding Arsenal and forcing them to chase an equaliser that eventually led to Villa's third goal then we probably would have been looking at all three points.

Nothing should be taken away from Aston Villa who played valiantly and in a fair fight may well have come away with a point.

Extra points - +1