Arsenal is still 4 points ahead of Man City, which means that if they lose to The Citizens in the second leg of the Premier League, The Gunners still have 1 point... as capital.
Therefore, if Arsenal does not win the Premier League this season, they can only blame themselves, rather than Man City or Aston Villa being able to create a comeback in the final sprint.
The defeat to Man United is the 3rd consecutive time Arsenal has not won in the Premier League. The consequence of this defeat is not only that, it also makes "Gunners" fans imagine in their heads a runner-up scenario like the previous 3 seasons.
No one thought that an Arsenal version that had just tormented Inter in the Champions League could lose so painfully to Man United when returning to the domestic arena.
Arsenal's squad has the best depth in Europe, but in all 4 arenas, they all have ambitions to win the championship. Therefore, as the cycle becomes stronger, it is understandable that the "Gunners" have fallen a few matches.
Man United has a better physical foundation when entering the Super Sunday match last Sunday, but the fact that the "Red Devils" can win right at the Emirates is not just a physical story.
In recent weeks, Arsenal has always had 2 versions: strong in the cup arena and weak in the national championship. In the last 3 matches against Liverpool, Nottingham and Man United, Arsenal looked like a team that had to play because of the huge expectations placed on their shoulders.
Man United came to Emirates with comfortable psychological baggage because losing is not surprising. Arsenal, on the contrary, are forced to win in a state of unqualified fitness.
I think it is very difficult to distinguish between tournaments, to separate the individual performance of the players and the collective performance as well. Arsenal has had 3 consecutive matches without winning and now is the time for us to win points.
Honestly, we have 3-4 mistakes today and this is very rare. However, it is part of football. When you make mistakes, sometimes you are punished or not. Today, we have received enough of that" - Mikel Arteta shared.
Mikel Merino's 2-2 equalizer is still what fans often see at Arsenal - a corner kick when the game is deadlocked. Goals are always precious no matter how they are scored. However, Arsenal is having difficulty in open ball situations, having to rely too much on fixed balls. In the defeat to Man United, no Arsenal players were in top form, even those considered invincible such as Delcan Rice, Martin Odegaard or Bukayo Saka.
The championship race has become more attractive in terms of points on the rankings, but it would be too early to say whether Man City or Villa can come back. They are also having countless instabilities such as Man City not winning 4 consecutive matches before winning against Wolves in round 23. However, Arsenal unintentionally invited Man City back to the championship race and in the previous 3 years, they have lost 2 times when "inviting" opponents like that.
In the Emirates stands on Sunday night, it seemed that only neutral fans believed that Arsenal still had the ability to win the championship this season. Tens of thousands of Gooners who witnessed that match with their own eyes did not believe, from what happened on the field to the ambition to win the championship after 22 years of waiting. There were a few boos after the match, it did not come from hatred, it was pain, a pain that was being rekindled.
This is Arsenal's most precarious period in the Premier League this season. They have full force but are full of draws and losses. This is the turning point of the season, Arsenal can overcome it, they will succeed and vice versa. The defeat to Man United is the 3rd defeat since the beginning of the season in all competitions. Looking at statistics, there is no crisis at all, but what Arsenal is losing is faith.
The race will be much more fierce in March, April, May. If it collapses in January, will the dream of a major title end up just a joke at the beginning of the season?
