In what has become somewhat of a tradition for Arsenal in the last few years, their season is being undone by their shoddy performances during February and March. All too often we see the Gunners fighting for honours but, by the end of March, they are out of the title race as well as the cup competitions.

If they don’t win the title this season, they can reflect on Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Stoke as one of the turning points. With some explosive fixtures against Chelsea, Spurs, Man City and Everton to come, Arsenal needed three points against the Potters.

Although fans will say it wasn’t a penalty, it is merely an excuse to hide the flaws. Arsenal were poor. They hardly created a decent chance. And it was definitely a penalty and a worthy three points for the home side.

If Jonathan Walter’s lob, which struck the hand of Koscielny inside the penalty box, hadn’t been blocked, the striker would have had a goal scoring opportunity. Let’s face it, Arsenal did not deserve to win.

In the absence of Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey, the players need to step up. Especially Mesut Ozil, who was afforded a break last week against Sunderland. Wenger, criticized for not replacing the injured players in January, will have to get his tactics spot on followed by some tremendous performances from his team if they want to win the title this year.