'If only' for Henry the one and only

After a turbulent week Arsenal are back on track to claim the singular prize they richly deserve

"Football is cruel," Arsène Wenger opined as Tuesday night edged towards Wednesday morning and the sheer misery of defeat by Chelsea in the Champions' League, so soon after eviction from the FA Cup by Manchester United, sank deeper and deeper into his being. Meanwhile the internet was already humming with the first taunts: "The Arsenal dartboard - no Trebles or Doubles but lots of bull".

"Football is cruel," Arsène Wenger opined as Tuesday night edged towards Wednesday morning and the sheer misery of defeat by Chelsea in the Champions' League, so soon after eviction from the FA Cup by Manchester United, sank deeper and deeper into his being. Meanwhile the internet was already humming with the first taunts: "The Arsenal dartboard - no Trebles or Doubles but lots of bull".

Then the Good Friday of Liverpool's visit became just that, transformed by two goals in a minute at a critical juncture of the whole season. The genius of Thierry Henry had emphasised why the team attracted such plaudits only a month ago, and suddenly a trip to Newcastle today was relieved of much of the pressure that another bad result on Friday would have brought.

Avoiding defeat there and in the following away game down the road at Tottenham would convince everyone that an unbeaten League record is more likely than not; but, more importantly, Highbury has been reminded, from the dressing room to the Clock End, that the championship of England is rather more than some sort of poor consolation prize. That is how it should be.

Arsenal are now in the same position as United a year ago; knocked out of the FA Cup by bitter rivals and deeply disappointed not to have made more of their European aspirations (in United's case knowing the final was being played on their home ground). The best inspiration for them would be to watch a video of Roy Keane and his mates after being handed the trophy at Everton on the final day, celebrating achievement rather than regretting failure.

It would, for instance, be worthy of highest praise to win the Premiership after overcoming the lack of spending power afflicting them last summer and having the better of two rivals who had outspent them in a ratio of almost 20:1 (United) and 80:1 (Chelsea).

The question mark against Arsenal from the end of last season onwards was how they were going to bridge the gap to United and the cream of Europe when spending on new players was so severely limited by the need to invest some £400m in a new stadium.

Jens Lehmann, at £1.5m, was the only senior player to arrive, and after one point was gleaned from his first three Champions' League games, the same question was still being asked. Not only did Arsenal recover with a run of five successive wins in Europe, they have stayed top of the table virtually all season, and at venues from the San Siro to Fratton Park (in 5-1 victories against Internazionale and Portsmouth) reached heights that brought comparisons with the best teams of the modern era.

The worry all along concerned depth of squad, and the possibility was always that there would be a price to pay once the Champions' League resumed and two games a week became the norm. Last week the bill came in.

In the meantime, the final securing of finance for the new stadium did release funds to sign José Antonio Reyes, who made up for Henry's absence by winning the FA Cup tie against Chelsea; but when Henry was unwisely left on the bench for the FA Cup semi-final, Jérémie Aliadière could not pull off the same trick, and the weakness showed. Reyes has been able to allow Dennis Bergkamp much-needed rest, but that is a luxury not possible for even more valued squad members such as Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell.

So, of course there will be regrets. Wenger understandably felt that "this is the most disappointing of all the European campaigns". Having still never reached a European Cup semi-final (unlike Tottenham and now Chelsea, let alone, say, both Dundee teams and Hibernian) his club will inevitably look back on this as the "if only" season. Although Arsenal and United have come to make a domestic Double look easier than it appeared to be throughout most of the last century, the European element remains the toughest to crack. In the last eight seasons, only Bayern Munich (2001) and United (1999) have won the Champions' League as well as their own domestic title.

Wenger believes that the tournament has now reverted to being more like a cup competition, prone therefore to shocks like the elimination of Milan and Real Madrid last week. It makes him no less keen to win it, which he insists last week's blow need not prevent: "You can use big disappointments to get up to the next level. This team is growing. We were very, very close in the Champions' League but we can come back stronger, and I feel, looking at the age of the team, we can do that. If you look at the quality of performances since the beginning of the season, you can only admire them, and not kill them if they have a big disappointment.

"In modern life, nobody accepts anymore that you can lose a football game. But it can happen any day, especially when you play against Manchester United or Chelsea."

Or even Liverpool, who fancied their chances at half-time on Friday. Then Henry - likened by his manager to a Formula One car, but stuttering a little recently - went smoothly through the gears and effectively ensured that he will become the first player voted Footballer of the Year in successive seasons.

Has Wenger made mistakes? It is surprising in the circumstances that Arsenal have allowed Leeds to hold on to Jermaine Pennant month after month. His pace and drive on the flanks would have been invaluable once Fredrik Ljungberg began struggling. Other than that, plus the rare tactical blunder of bringing on Pascal Cygan to play on the left of midfield at home to United, and leaving out Henry at Villa Park, it is difficult to fault the manager for much. Taking an admirable long-term view, he fully supported the board's decision to go for broke (not quite literally) over the new ground and accepted spending restraints without complaining, even managing to unearth another young gem for nothing in the teenaged full-back Gaël Clichy.

It would be painful to contemplate the championship slipping away now, even if the unbeaten record was to go at St James' Park this afternoon. Should the very worst happen, Wenger will keep the faith: "Whether we win it or not will not change my opinion of my players. I think they're exceptional players and exceptional human beings. The attitude is not just about coming here and having a contract and making money - they really love football and love the club. We've done our job in a proud way."

TREBLE LOST TRIPLE GAINED

3 April, 11.59am: Arsenal prepare to kick off against Manchester United, and talk of the Treble is rife. Bookies offer 7-1 on them achieving it. Seven points clear in the Premiership, in the FA Cup semi-finals and odds-on to reach the Champions' League semi-finals. The Racing Post calls the 6-4 to beat Man Utd the "nap of the day".

12.32pm: The Treble dies at the feet of Paul Scholes. Arsenal go on to lose for the fifth time this season.

3.38pm: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scores and Chelsea beat Tottenham 1-0 to narrow the League gap to four points.

Tuesday: 72 hours after being ousted from the FA Cup, Arsenal are undone by Chelsea for the first time in 18 head-to-heads. Wayne Bridge's late winner silences Highbury and dispatches Arsenal from Europe. "The sides who win the Champions' League and FA Cups are not necessarily the best in Europe and England," reasons Arsène Wenger (above).

Friday: Sami Hyypia puts Liverpool 1-0 up after five minutes at Highbury. Arsenal are in danger of going from heroes to zeroes in a week. Enter Thierry Henry, with a hat-trick... Arsenal are seven points clear of Chelsea with six matches left. Bookmakers slash them to 1-20 to win the title, 11-8 to stay unbeaten. "We have the League to win; for me that's the biggest title," says Wenger.

Yesterday: Chelsea held to a draw, reducing the gap by one, to six points.

The title run-in

Arsenal: Today: v Newcastle (a). 16 April: v Leeds (h). 25 April: v Tottenham (a). 1 May: v Birmingham (h). 8 May: v Fulham (a). 15 May: v Leicester (h).

Chelsea: 12 April: v Aston Villa (a). 17 April: v Everton (h). 24 April: v Newcastle (a). 1 May: v Southampton (h). 8 May: v Man Utd (a). 15 May: v Leeds (h).

By Gary Lemke