Arsenal's Premier League title race once again encountered problems, causing many of their fans to question their title prospects.
Arsenal's 1-2 home defeat to Bournemouth is an unmissable opportunity for Manchester City, who are chasing the "Gunners" in the championship race. Mikel Arteta's team played lifelessly at the Emirates, and just 24 hours later, Pep Guardiola's team won convincingly 3-0 against Chelsea.
After leading the league table since September last year, Arsenal has shown instability at an important time of the season. First, they lost to Man City in the Carabao Cup final, then were unexpectedly eliminated in the FA Cup quarter-finals by Southampton.
By the end of last week, Arsenal's leading gap in the Premier League had narrowed to 6 points, with Man City (still unbeaten) closely behind.
If Arsenal fans are grimacing when thinking about facing Man City at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, part of the reason is their recent history of frequently losing form at the end of the season.
Man City has had much more impressive performances than Arsenal in the final stage of the last 4 seasons, regardless of their position in the league table compared to the "Gunners". Arsenal needs to break that trend if they want to avoid having to wait wearily to win another Premier League title that lasts for the 23rd year.
2021-2022
Arsenal had the youngest squad in the Premier League at that time with an average age of only 24 years and 308 days. They also did not really compete for the championship, but only focused on winning tickets to European cups. Despite being closely pursued by Liverpool, Man City led the league table throughout the second half of the season and finally won the championship with a gap of only one point.
For comparison, Guardiola's team has won 30 points from the remaining 12 matches of the season, while Arsenal could only win 18 points in the same period. In the end, The Gunners finished in fifth place and qualified for the UEFA Europa League.
2022-2023
3 years ago, Arsenal topped the league table after 27 matches, 5 points ahead of Man City when both teams played the same number of matches.
Arsenal maintained the top spot until the 33rd round, when they were defeated 4-1 by Man City at the Etihad and dethroned. Man City continued to accelerate, winning the championship with a 5-point gap after winning 31 points in the last 12 matches, in contrast to Arsenal's 21 points. That was also the season Man City won the historic treble.
2023-2024
Arsenal competed fiercely with Man City and Liverpool for most of the season. The 3 teams are usually only one to two points apart, creating an exciting race.
Despite many times leading, Arsenal still could not prevent Man City from winning the championship for the fourth consecutive time. The gap was only one point, but enough for Guardiola's team to win the championship.
2023-2025
When Man City declined, Arsenal and Liverpool competed directly. However, The Gunners' streak of losing points at the end of the season - especially the defeat to Bournemouth - helped Liverpool break away and win the championship.
Man City, although behind, still won more points than Arsenal in the final stage (27 compared to 21), finishing in third place, only three points behind Arsenal.
