Mikel Arteta said the pain of Arsenal’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City would help them in the run-in. Keeping that narrative positive after their FA Cup exit to Southampton will be harder.
Do Arsenal have the temperament of champions? That question follows a shock quarter-final defeat at St Mary’s, a missed opportunity to return to Wembley and keep alive the chase for more silverware.
Their Champions League draw with Sporting looks favourable, and their lead in the Premier League appears commanding. But nothing feels certain for this Arsenal team right now. A side that was noted for cold efficiency is showing vulnerability, and talk of a quadruple has been replaced by doubts about whether they will win anything.
The Carabao Cup final defeat felt significant at the time, and Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Liverpool the same weekend, combined with Arsenal’s tame loss to Southampton, should ring alarm bells in north London. City sit nine points behind Arsenal with a game in hand and have shown recently they can produce high-quality performances in the run-in. That, plus a history of hunting Arsenal down in title races, will understandably concern the squad and supporters.
Arteta’s causes for concern
Individual errors on the rise
Arsenal’s nervousness at decisive moments is manifesting as individual mistakes. At Wembley Kepa spilled a cross for Nico O’Reilly to score City’s opener; at St Mary’s Ben White mistimed his jump, allowing Ross Stewart to head Southampton’s first. Opta data shows eight goals conceded from Arsenal errors in the past 23 games, after just one in the previous 28.
Defensive issues
Arteta said after the Southampton loss: “We didn’t manage the long balls well enough, which is something very strange. In the first half, we just let the ball through us and they were one against one. The way we concede the second goal was very similar.” Whether this is down to personnel changes in central defence—William Saliba started on the bench at St Mary’s—or disruption with the goalkeeper position, opponents will be encouraged to target these weaknesses.
Injuries and fitness
Arsenal’s injury list is not huge, but key players are unavailable or not fully fit. Gabriel appeared to pick up a problem at Saints. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were not in the squad at St Mary’s; both are Arsenal’s primary set-piece takers, and Eberechi Eze’s absence further limits attacking options. Martin Ødegaard made his first start since 25 January, and Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke and Saliba were able only to come on as substitutes. The squad is not at full strength.
City on the charge
This Manchester City side may not match Guardiola’s greatest teams, but the manager and club carry an aura when chasing a title late in the season. They do not need to reproduce past streaks; with seven games remaining, a repeat of the quality shown at Wembley and against Liverpool could spark a title charge. An Arsenal team that has been overhauled before may be bracing for a similar pull from City.
Crunch time for Arsenal
Arsenal’s next five games:
– Tue 7 Apr: Sporting (A) — Champions League
– Sat 11 Apr: Bournemouth (H) — Premier League
– Wed 15 Apr: Sporting (H) — Champions League
– Sun 19 Apr: Man City (A) — Premier League
– Sat 25 Apr: Newcastle (H) — Premier League
Man City’s next five games:
– Sun 12 Apr: Chelsea (A) — Premier League
– Sun 19 Apr: Arsenal (H) — Premier League
– Sat 25/26 Apr: FA Cup semi-final
– Mon 4 May: Everton (A) — Premier League
– Sat 9 May: Brentford (H) — Premier League
The coming fortnight will be a gruelling examination of Arsenal’s character and whether they have the temperament of champions.