Same old story for gutless Gunners

LAST season it happened at Wigan.

Yesterday it was a few miles down the road at Bolton.

Arsene Wenger should have known that Arsenal’s title hopes would be buried in England’s north west as the region is where his team’s charge to finish top traditionally dies.

Last April they led 2-0 at the DW Stadium before committing title suicide by conceding three times in the final 10 minutes.

It was just as bad at the Reebok.

Robin van Persie had cancelled out Daniel Sturridge’s opener for Bolton, and Arsenal were knocking on the door for the winner as an enthralling contest entered its dying stages.

Tamir Cohen, who had not scored since September 2009, had been on the pitch five minutes when he rose high above the Arsenal defence to flash a header beyond Wojciech Szczesny from Matt Taylor’s corner and Wenger turned away in anguish to hurl a water bottle to the ground in frustration.

On a weekend when Manchester United continued their healthy knack of scoring late winners, Arsenal’s title chances were undone by a late defensive lapse which left them nine points adrift of the summit with just four matches remaining.

Since September 2005, Arsenal have won just 18 times in 44 Premier League fixtures in the north west.

Fortunately for Wenger and his players, they do not have to visit the region again this season.

This defeat mirrored their under-performing campaign — good in parts but lacking in mentality and steel at key moments. Although this was their first defeat in 17 league games, Arsenal have won only eight of those matches.

The killer instinct Wenger’s teams of the past have been famous for is missing. While their football remains slick and frequently thrilling, the defence is fragile and can easily be picked off at set-pieces.

This was a must-win game as far as Arsenal were concerned and Wenger’s side started as though they meant business.

A sweeping sixth minute move involving Jack Wilshere, playing against the club he turned out for on loan last season, and Theo Walcott provided Cesc Fabregas with an early opportunity.

But the Arsenal captain fired high and wide of the target and the chance was wasted.

The story of their season.

This was a big test of character for Bolton after the 5-0 FA Cup semi-final embarrassment to Stoke seven days earlier.

Jussi Jaaskelainen produced a fine stop to deny Fabregas from 20-yards in the 15th minute while Taylor was fortunate not to concede a penalty after a late challenge on Walcott.

But, in a pulsating contest, Arsenal were fortunate to escape themselves when Daniel Sturridge split the visitors’ defence with a 25th minute pass which sent Chung-Yong Lee clean through.

The South Korean should have at least tested Szczesny but instead attempted a fancy flick to Kevin Davies which came to nothing.

In a game which swung from end-to-end, Samir Nasri wasted another opportunity when he missed the target from 20 yards after the Bolton defence had opened up.

But the hosts took the lead seven minutes before the end of an entertaining first half.

Moments after Szczesny had spread himself to deny Lee, Sturridge pounced from the resulting corner, the 21-year-old taking his tally to seven in nine games since joining on loan from Chelsea, after being the first to react when Gary Cahill’s header had been cleared off the line by Nasri.

With their title hopes rapidly fading, Arsenal responded through Fabregas who hit the woodwork from 25 yards.

Yet it looked all over for Wenger’s side when Sturridge went down inside the area following Johan Djourou’s 47th minute challenge.

Referee Mike Jones immediately pointed to the penalty spot, a harsh decision as Djourou appeared to make the slightest of contact.

However, justice was done when Davies’s poorly struck penalty was kept out by Szczesny. Seconds later Arsenal were back on level terms after Fabregas’s surge forward resulted in the impressive Van Persie finding the net from the edge of the area.

Arsenal bombarded the home defence in search of the winner. So much so that they forgot all about Cohen, who celebrated his winner by whipping off his Bolton shirt to reveal a picture of his late father Avi, the former Liverpool player, who died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident last December.

Arsenal have now won just one of the last seven league games and are on the brink of a sixth successive season without silverware.

Not good enough.