Arsenal fall to pressure at the wrong time in the Premier League tittle race

• Arsenal are having one of their best seasons in the last decade, being title contenders at this time of the season
• The Gunners are at the top of the Premier League with seven matches to go
• They have dropped four points in the last two matches, drawing the matches having dropped points from the winning position

After 25 minutes at the London Stadium, Arsenal and Mikel Arteta appeared to have everything under control.

They had the game won against West Ham United after only ten minutes, having raced into a 2-0 lead with to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard. It’s a bit like last Sunday, when the Gunners were a couple of goals up against Liverpool, albeit not quite as early on.

Arsenal’s movement was fluent, their passing was sharp, and their confidence seemed to be sky-high against a Newcastle squad that had been thrashed 5-1 on this identical ground just 11 days before. It was all far too simple.

Winning would have restored Arsenal’s six-point advantage over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, setting up a mouthwatering heavyweight battle at the Etihad Stadium on April 26.

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However, Arteta’s team had failed to read the winning script for the second week in a row. Instead, they retreated into their shells and committed individual and collective errors, allowing West Ham, backed by a raucous home crowd, to overwhelm them. They eventually pulled a tie from the jaws of victory.

The fact that Arsenal’s demise was entirely their fault is maybe the most upsetting for Arteta.

Kierney’s weight of pass to Thomas Partey was hesitant, as was the Ghanaian’s reaction to said pass. Declan Rice picked his pocket, and Gabriel had his foot in the shin of Lucas Paqueta within 10 seconds, resulting in a stonewall penalty kick.

Arsenal went 2-0 up against West Ham but still went on to draw 2-2 at full-time in the Premier League on Sunday, April 16 2023. | PHOTO: Premier League |

“We started extremely well once again, dominated the game, the pitch, and scored two beautiful goals.” then we made a huge error. “We stopped playing with the same purpose,” Arteta lamented after the game. They had, indeed.

Said Benrahma converted the penalty to cut the lead to 2-1, after which Arsenal appeared to sit back and ease off the gas.

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Arsenal were even given a wonderful opportunity to re-establish their two-goal lead when Michail Antonio carelessly extended his arm to concede an early second-half penalty. Bukayo Saka, one of the Premier League’s top performers this season, pushed his shot wide of Lukasz Fabianski’s post rather than take the risk.

With the crowd boosted by Saka’s miss, Arsenal then committed the cardinal sin of compounding that error. Thilo Kehrer on the halfway line cleared Aaron Cresswell’s corner, with the German lifting the ball directly back into the penalty area.

Arsenal hadn’t cleared the box all at once, so Jarrod Bowen was onside as he sprinted into the penalty area and turned towards Aaron Ramsdale’s goal. The finish from the England winger was technically excellent, but it was utterly avoidable from Arsenal’s perspective.

After Odegaard’s tenth-minute strike, Arsenal had only three more efforts on target, all of which were easy saves for Fabianski. After a quick start, Gabriel Martinelli faded, Gabriel Jesus faded, and the acclaimed midfield combination of Odegaard, Granit Xhaka, and Thomas Partey were outfought by Lucas Paqueta, Declan Rice, and Tomas Soucek.

Manchester City could still drop points in the title race, but we’ve seen from them over the years the kind of mentality Arteta requested at this point in the season – a merciless, win-at-all-costs drive that kills clubs and wins trophies.

Arsenal are still top of the standings by four points and control their own destiny, but this collapse could be the first unwelcome step on the path to finishing the season as Premier League runners-up rather than champions for the first time in 19 years.