Arsenal must learn from the Invincibles - this week will define Arteta's reign

Mikel Arteta must embrace the pressure knowing Arsenal must deliver the biggest trophies this season, having seen back-to-back defeats dump them out of the domestic cup competitions

Back in 2004, Arsenal’s season looked to be falling apart. They had crashed out of the FA Cup semi final to bitter rivals Manchester United on April 3. Three days later, Arsenal were dumped out of the Champions League at Highbury by Chelsea.

Then, on Good Friday, Arsenal were 2-1 down to Liverpool with their dreams of winning a Treble unravelling.

It was then Thierry Henry stepped up, produced one of the best performances of his life as he scored a hat trick, Arsenal won 4-2 and went on to win the title. They were crowned the Invincibles for going through a whole Premier League season unbeaten.

Funnily enough, no-one ever talks about Arsenal “just” winning the title. They talk about an incredible piece of unrivalled football history which has not been matched before or since.

The similarities between that week in 2004 and today are striking. Arsenal lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City and in their next game they crashed out of the FA Cup at Southampton. The dream of a quadruple has been halved but now they must lift themselves for the biggest week of Arsenal’s season so far.

The Gunners must change the whole mood as they prepare to face Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Then, four days later, they face Bournemouth at the Emirates on Saturday lunchtime when a victory would push Arsenal 12 points clear of Manchester City who go to Chelsea 24 hours later.

Arsenal’s back-to-back defeats will either signal the moment the season fell apart or be the setback which propelled Mikel Arteta’s men to glory.

The Invincibles season was the last time Arsenal won the title and that dressing room had huge characters with the likes of Henry, Patrick Vieira, Sol Campbell, Jens Lehmann and Martin Keown.

Former Arsenal defender Keown, a substitute that day against Liverpool, was one of the leaders who gave a rabble-rousing speech to help inspire the victory which saved the whole season.

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour recalled afterwards: “I will always remember that nightmare week when we lost in the Champions League, went out of the FA Cup and suddenly we had to beat Liverpool, we were trailing them and that’s when Thierry Henry really turned up.

“Everybody knew that Liverpool game was a big game. We’d suffered two big blows and could have been out of everything in a week. That’s how bad it gets in football. If you had a defeat then you’d have to try and get back to winning ways as quickly as possible, to have someone in the dressing room to gee up the players. You have to bounce back.”

Now the current generation has to do the same. This is the week which will define Arteta’s reign and the careers of the current Arsenal squad.

If they win the next two games then the last two defeats can be dismissed as a blip in the season because no-one has ever done the Quadruple and very few have ever achieved a Treble.

This time the title is all that really matters for Arsenal. To get themselves over the line and to prove the doubters wrong and to show they have got the strength and mentality to cope with the pressure of Manchester City breathing down their necks.

They have wilted in the past, got scared when Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City have suddenly appeared in their rear view mirror.

City are threatening to do it again. They have won the Carabao Cup, are favourites to win the FA Cup and if they snatched the title from Arsenal’s grasp to clinch the Treble then it is hard to see how Arteta would ever recover from such a blow.

Arteta’s whole future would have to be in doubt because you simply cannot blow a nine point lead in the title race and the chance to make history - and then end up with nothing.

But the big managers, the big personalities and big players love that sort of pressure. The Invincibles thrived on it. Now this generation must do the same.