Last weekend was certainly better than the corresponding one in 2011 which was when we contrived to throw away a 4-0 half-time lead against Newcastle.

This article from The Gooner archives was first published back in 1997 in issue 76 and explains why I tend to view games in late January and early February with some trepidation.

My birthday falls on February 4th, which probably means very little to you except that you’ve just missed the opportunity to send me a card - I’ll expect one next year though. Unfortunately, however, Arsenal have an uncanny habit of failing to produce the goods in the match nearest to my big day. It started when I was a kid and my Dad would take me and a couple of school chums to Highbury as a birthday treat - a goal-less draw against Sunderland in 1977 was not quite the result I’d have liked to see, but it was still better than the following year when we lost 1-0 to Aston Villa! And since I first became a season ticket holder in 1985-86, it’s fair to say that matters haven’t improved very much...

February 4th 1986, League Cup Quarter-Final Replay v Aston Villa (h). Lost 2-1
The first time I recall counting my chickens before they had hatched. We’d been unlucky not to win the game at Villa Park - I seem to remember Graham Rix hitting the bar when it seemed easier to score - and since the first game the semi-final draw had pitted the winners of the tie against Oxford United. You might say we were already dreaming of Wembley. However, in a bizarre team selection, Don Howe decided to play Paul Mariner in the centre of midfield in preference to Steve Williams and although Mariner did get on the scoresheet late in the game, Villa already had built up a two goal cushion.

February 8th 1987, League Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg v Tottenham (h). Lost 1-0
Once again, Wembley was beckoning, but this time we were one stage further and Spurs were the only hurdle left to clear. Viv Anderson missed the game through suspension and whilst it is impossible to attribute the goal to anything his deputy, Gus Caesar, did wrong, you just had a feeling that Gus’ presence had given Spurs a mighty lift. Fortunately, we had a second bite of the cherry a three weeks later and we all know what happened then.

January 31st 1990, FA Cup 4th Round Replay v QPR (a). Lost 2-0
Ex-players have an unpleasant knack of coming back to haunt you, but who would have thought Kenny Sansom would deliver such a devastating knock-out blow as he did when he scored the second QPR goal. He describes it elsewhere in this issue as the best goal he’s ever scored - I’m afraid I didn’t see it in quite the same light Kenny!

February 2nd 1991, League v Chelsea (a). Lost 2-1
Only one league defeat all season and it just had to happen two days before my birthday! I suppose the result was almost inevitable given our past record at Stamford Bridge, but that did not make it any the easier to take, especially as my boss at the time was a Chelsea fan - for some reason I wasn’t keen to share a birthday drink with him the following Monday.

February 9th 1994, FA Cup 4th Round Replay v Bolton Wanderers (h). Lost 3-1
Kevin Campbell shares the same birthday as me, so this depressing sequence of results relates to him as much as it does me. The difference between the two of us is that I’ve never had a chance to change the course of a match - he on the other hand has, in particular the match against Bolton which is one that will always stick in the memory. How he missed the chance which presented itself to him inside the six yard box in the last minute of normal time is beyond belief, but miss it he did.

February 4th 1995, League v Sheffield Wednesday (a). Lost 3-1
We took the lead at Hillsborough early on through Andy Linighan, but things turned very sour indeed when first Tony Adams and then new-boy John Hartson received their marching orders. The defeat did nothing to help improve our mid-table league position and a relegation battle was beginning to look on the cards. Furthermore, George Graham’s sacking was now less than three weeks away.

February 4th 1997, FA Cup 4th Round v Leeds United (h). Lost 1-0
Strange how things turn full circle isn’t it? With a home draw against Portsmouth awaiting the winners, many fans were already discussing possible quarter-final opponents. I, on the other hand, was all too conscious of the date, not to mention the manager of the opposition. Cheers George!

It has again been suggested recently that the English game would benefit from a mid-winter break. If it were to encompass, say the last week in January and the first couple of weeks in February, then you can take it for granted that I’ll be in favour!