Arsenal fans may have cause to feel unusually nervous about tonight's Champions League excursion to Bulgaria to face Ludogorets Razgrad.
However, it is not the opposition that will have Gunners worried but the date. November has become the month Arsenal fear the most.
"As Arsene Wenger turned over his calendar this morning and saw the 11th month of the Gregorian calendar staring him in the face, a shiver may have gone down his spine," writes Joe Mewis of the Daily Mirror, highlighting the post-Halloween horror that consumes Arsenal fans.
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Under Wenger, the Gunners have traditionally struggled in the month of November, he writes, playing 78 Premier League fixtures, winning fewer than half of them and losing a third. The return of 1.59 points per game makes November easily their worst month of the season.
"As the clocks go backwards at the end of October each year, so invariably do Arsenal," says Charlie Eccleshare of the Daily Telegraph.
While the team usually fare well at the start of the season, the wheels tend to come loose towards the end of the year.
Games come thick and fast in the 11th month, with Premier League, Champions League and League Cup commitments to contend with. What's more, Arsenal always seem to come up against major league rivals in November and must also prioritise European games.
But it is their woeful injury record that creates the biggest problems, says Eccleshare.
Niggles "become harder to absorb a few months into the season when overworked players begin to feel the effects of a busy start to the campaign", he adds. "A vicious cycle then develops whereby Arsenal are playing more matches but with fewer available players, which means less rotation and greater risk of injuries."
Other clubs have similar problems but Arsenal seem to suffer most and this year looks like no exception.
"Difficult league matches against Tottenham and Manchester United, coupled with the potential Champions League group decider against Paris Saint-Germain, provide reason to believe Arsenal could be in for another difficult November," says Eccleshare.
There are also warning signs on the injury front. Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin will all be absent against Ludogrets, reports the BBC. However, Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka and Olivier Giroud are all expected to be available.
"Arsenal appear genuinely well-placed to buck the trend this year," says Mewis in the Mirror. They appear less fragile than in previous seasons and Wenger's cautious squad building appears to be paying off.
"As well as having a plethora of options upfront, Wenger is also spoilt for choice in the middle of the park," adds the journalist. "If ever there was a year for Arsenal to get over their November blues, this is it."
