Arsenal lost 2-1 away at the Etihad Stadium. (Image: Getty)
The fears of the Arsenal fan base are becoming reality. A banner reading “Cause panic on the streets of London” was put up in the final moments of the Manchester City game. After this, they might just hear a voice saying, “Here we go again!” I hope to see this chant at many away grounds in the Premier League next season as well. The Gunners have long had complete control of the title race. They have been in the lead since the sixth round. Eight days ago, they lost against Bournemouth and missed out on a chance to put City up by 12 points, despite playing two extra-time games.
Now, this coming Wednesday night, City can be top of the table for the first time since the opening weekend. All they need to do is beat a disappointing Burnley side who have conceded more goals than anyone else this season. I’m not sure, but you’d be a madman to support Burnley. And just weeks after that one-sided Carabao Cup final at Wembley, City once again defeated the Gunners with a solid win.
In the other three stages of this season, Arsenal hold a seven-point lead over City. If they don’t win the league from here, they will only have themselves to blame. This is their fourth loss in their last six games in all competitions. They went from dreaming of a quadruple to potentially ending up without a trophy.
Two of those losses were against City, which is a big mental blow at this stage of the season. And it is Mikel Arteta who must take responsibility for that. He wasn’t the only one to blame, his Arsenal team probably deserved a point at the Etihad. Unlike last month’s Wembley, there was no freezing. They stood tall.
But to his long-time mentor Josep Guardiola, Arsenal decisively ceded further momentum in this title race, which not so long ago did not look like a real title challenge. Arteta hoped to be “unafraid and pure fire” in midweek’s Champions League match against Sporting. The game ended in a 0-0 draw with only one shot on target. Arsenal only had two shots on target against City, but they hit the wooden frame a number of times and Kai Havertz missed a great chance late on.
Debates over Arsenal’s tactics are not new. But despite having some players at the top, it’s clear that a lack of consistent attacking flair is coming back to haunt the north Londoners at the worst possible time. They have scored a total of four goals in their last six games, but have yet to score two goals in the same game. As before, they are falling apart at the critical moment.
Victor Gokeres is the Premier League’s top scorer with 12 goals, but since then no player has scored more than six goals. Incidentally, even Manchester United’s defensive midfielder Casemiro has scored eight goals in the league. Newcastle’s Nick Waltemaide was declared a £69m flop. He has played 7 games in the Premier League.
Man City have won the Premier League title race. (Image: Getty)
Arsenal’s title dreams could disappear again (Image: Getty)
Arsenal legend Ian Wright delivered his best performance of the week. He said, “Watching the game, it hurts. The pain is hitting me. I’m dying to not feel it. I’ve put in a lot of effort and invested a lot in the coach, the team, the players, everything.”
“And they’ve earned their spot again, but just watching it go down, I see players making mistakes. When you’re at the top of the league and you have to beat a team, I don’t see anything.”
If you look back at the situation at Arsenal when Arteta took over, he’s still doing a great job overall. However, despite being the favorites, the Gunners may not win the big trophy for the fourth season in a row. There’s really no excuse for missing out on winning the league. In fact, they should already have a trophy in their hands right now.
And Arteta is in trouble because of a style of football that even club legends like Wright are insensitive to. If this season ends without a silver medal, there will be fewer and fewer fans in his corner. They will be able to endure this conservative football if it leads to success. However, once again, Arsenal are in danger of ending the season disappointed.
Is it really possible that I will be fired this summer? Probably not. But he will be subject to a lot of ridicule and Arteta will not be able to escape the ‘almost man’ tag if Arsenal fail to win the league and find themselves in an even more difficult situation in recent weeks. He will lose a lot of credibility with the Arsenal fan base.
Will the Champions League be a savior for the Spaniards? Perhaps, but judging by recent performances, does this team playing this style of football have what it takes to win in the final against Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain? Apparently not.
Arteta fell to his knees when Havertz missed a late header. If the Germans had scored and Arsenal had drawn, they would still have had their fate in their hands. But now they are in real danger and failure to win the title this season will leave a huge stain on the manager’s reputation. He may never be able to wash off. He’s running out of time to prove he can get over the line.
