What from personal experience would you say is the most painful defeat that Arsenal have incurred in the last decade, the winner for me is obvious but I have a few other contenders.


Birmingham City 2-1 Arsenal February 2011

The pessimist in me saw it coming throughout the second half, just knew when Foster was single-handedly (although not literally) keeping us at bay that it wasn't going to go for us. It wasn't a terrible performance, we looked unsure at the back but when don't we?.....but we just lacked that spark that was going to win us the game. To make matters worse I was in hospital on the day that match was played. Until we win silverware again this match will remain too painful for me to talk about in any great length.


-----Other Contenders---------------


Everton 2-1 Arsenal October 2002
My first year of University and in my naivety really bought into the invincibility of our team having not lost a game in the league since the 3-1 defeat to Newcastle the previous December, and in the days of teletext I was constantly updating it hoping for a late winner what I got instead was a someone Rooney giving the toffees a 2-1 win. The name wasn't unfamiliar to me as I knew an Everton fan who was raving about him as being the next big thing....but wow was i devastated.

Man United 2-0 Arsenal October 2004
Another unbeaten run unceremoniously ended, another Rooney inspired heartbreak. I have never before or since been as nervous about a game as much as this one, this game was going to make it 50 not out......going unbeaten at Old Trafford again would give us momentum to make a charge for consecutive league titles, instead that foul little goblin dived over sol campbell's leg and Mike Riley bought it and we ended up winning only once in the next five games and going five points behind Chelsea. Also the game where United decided they could kick our players allover the park and the officials decided they could get away with it.

Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea April 2004
Going out of the FA cup to United three days previously had been disappointing but at the same time we'd won that competition the last two years running and so was less of a bitter pill to swallow. This presented for me our best chance to date of winning the European cup and it all seemed to be going our way when Reyes gave us the lead, then Lehmann spilled Makelele's long ranger and Lampard tucked in the rebound and the rest I can't even bring myself to type. Our first defeat to Chelsea in any competition in six years, but unfortunately a sign of things to come.

Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal May 2006
Disappointment in the heart breaking manner of the defeat, rather than the performance where I felt we fought gallantly for ages despite being down to ten men, to know we were 15 minutes away from the biggest win in the club's history......sob.


Arsenal 2-3 Leeds United May 2003
There was always a sense we were fighting the inevitable in this game, that we were hoping to take United to the last day rather than any solid hope that we might still win the title, we'd rather thrown away that hope the previous week when we were held by Bolton despite being 2-0 up. We were the better side throughout and chasing the winner until Viduka danced passed the leaden Oleg Luhzny to plant the ball past David Seaman and give United the title with a game to spare.

Any others you can think of that I haven't mentioned?