Arsene Wenger's mind games with Alex Ferguson may have helped Arsenal to the double last season. Now Wenger must look closer to home, and practise his psychological ploys on his own players. But the enemy within is always elusive.
Three successive defeats does not make for a crisis and 27 goal attempts, 14 on target, against Blackburn hardly smacks of a sudden self-confidence shortage. Yet this is a real shock to the system, especially as Wenger justifiably claimed: "The quality of our game for 80 per cent of the time was absolutely marvellous".
Not only the statistics defied the law of probability. Much of Arsenal's football was wonderful; an amalgam of pace, movement and touch - yet they lost.
This is not supposed to happen to Arsenal. "Unexplainable," mused Wenger after the first domestic home defeat of 2002. Unlike the suspended Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry, Wenger did not field the fatigue excuse. "We looked a pace higher than Blackburn. Thierry may have felt tired, but he did not look tired."
Wenger then attempted to rationalise the traumatic last eight days but, when offered assistance, dodged the question. Effectively, is it significant that his compatriot Gerard Houllier has rotated players in the team who now stand four points clear? Mmm. "Liverpool have a good chance, but it is a long way to go," answered Arsenal's manager.
He then ventured into the irrational. "You felt as if there was an angel behind the goalkeeper," referring to Brad Friedel, whose superlative performance followed the pain caused by a piece of knee cartilage popping out 25 minutes before kick-off.
Wenger's claim his team could go through the season unbeaten seemed rash when uttered two months ago. Now, seen in the mirror of the last three games, it is staring back and mocking him.
The scapegoat of the month, David Seaman, could not be faulted here. Arsenal's captain for the day was blameless in being beaten by a Brazilian - shades of Shizuoka - with Edu's morale-sapping early own-goal and Dwight Yorke's cleverly chipped winner.
The problems lay in front of Seaman in the shapes of Pascal Cygan and Sol Campbell. The French centre back had a shocker. Campbell was partly at fault for both Blackburn goals, Yorke breaking through his tackle for the first and Tugay's pass catching him out of position in the build up to the second. Vieira's absence was compounded by one of Fredrik Ljungberg's lesser days.
Up front, Nwankwo Kanu fiddled while Henry burned, at least for a time. Friedel produced his first save from the Frenchman and deep in the second half deserved the fortune, when beaten, of seeing the same striker's shot deflect off Martin Taylor and on to a post.
Dennis Bergkamp's contribution was most notable for a kick and then a stamp on Nils-Eric Johansson which escaped a red card from Graham Barber but surely not, after television exposure, the video panel's attention.
The Dutchman, said Wenger flatly, will not be driving to Dortmund for Wednesday's Champions League match. On this evidence he will also be ruled out of a few domestic games.
Graeme Souness lost his captain Garry Flitcroft to a harsh second yellow card.
Guardian Service
ARSENAL: Seaman, Lauren, Campbell, Cygan, Cole (Toure 87), Wiltord, Edu (Pires 63), Silva, Ljungberg, Kanu (Bergkamp 64), Henry. Subs Not Used: Taylor, Luzhny. Booked: Henry. Goals: Edu 45.
BLACKBURN: Friedel, Neill, Berg, Taylor, Tugay (Gillespie 66), Dunn (Jansen 85), Flitcroft, Thompson, Johansson, Ostenstad (Short 83), Yorke. Subs Not Used: Grabbi, Kelly. Sent Off: Flitcroft (79). Booked: Ostenstad, Johansson, Flitcroft. Goals: Edu 6 og, Yorke 51.
Referee: G Barber (Hertfordshire).
