The 1-1 away draw against Manchester United left Arsenal 15 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool with a game in hand. In addition, the two teams will have a direct clash on May 10.
However, even if Arsenal win both of those matches, they will still be 9 points behind The Kop. Comparing such a large gap is a very difficult task for The Gunners at the moment. Especially since they have not had a central striker in the squad since Kai Havertz was injured in February.
At some point, the Gunners' fans will think of Ollie Watkins as a regret. Arsenal approached the England striker in January, but Aston Villa rejected him after selling Jhon Duran to Al Nassr.
That will be a mitigating factor for Mikel Arteta, but why not consider another option? Arsenal are fully capable of borrowing players, instead of allowing Mikel Merino to play as a striker.
Of course, even without a central striker, Arsenal still played well in the first half at Old Trafford against Man United. However, Bruno Fernandes' injury-time goal put Man United ahead at half-time.
Everyone was expecting some strong reaction from Arsenal in the second half. However, apart from Declan Rice's header and Martin Odegaard's chances, the Gunners have not created any significant threats. In fact, Man United had a better chance and David Raya saved Arsenal with a number of important saves in the last minute.
It is difficult to talk about the disappointment of this result for Arsenal. Since February 1, the "Red Devils" have played 8 matches at Old Trafford, lost 5 matches, only defeated Ipswich and Southampton who are threatened with relegation. With the Champions League quarter-finals within reach after the 7-1 win over PSV Eindhoven in the first leg, Arteta clearly does not need to worry too much. They even have 2 more days of preparation than Man United.
"It's disappointing not to win, but with everything we did, especially in terms of personnel, it was a match with 43 to 44 minutes.
We dominated and controlled the whole match, only a little bit missing from the last 15m to 20m. That shows that we need more sharpness, more attacking intentions, the final passes and the final decisions" - Arteta said after the draw against Man United.
