Arsenal’s mentality has come under scrutiny after suffering a monumental defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League title race
There has been much discussion about Arsenal’s mentality following Sunday’s crucial 2-1 loss to Manchester City.
The Gunners have seen their nine-point lead over their rivals at the summit reduced to three points after second-placed City’s potential title-deciding victory.
Erling Haaland’s 65th-minute goal proved to be the winner after Kai Havertz had initially cancelled out Rayan Cherki’s first-half opener. Mikel Arteta’s men endured their fourth loss in six fixtures across all competitions to cap off a torrid month which also saw them fall to City in the Carabao Cup final and bow out of the FA Cup.
Anything short of three points against Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium this Saturday in the league would prove disastrous, particularly given that City still have a game in hand. Now, football.london, takes a look at two of the latest news stories surrounding the north Londoners.
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‘Bottle’ claims rejected
Danny Murphy has rushed to Arsenal’s defence by insisting they cannot be accused of “bottling” the league this season, despite such accusations being levelled both recently and in the past. The Gunners have remarkably finished second in each of the previous three seasons and are in danger of doing so for an unprecedented fourth time.
Yet, in contrast to the overly simplistic narrative that their recent loss at City stemmed from a lack of composure, the Gunners actually gave a good account of themselves and were unlucky not to take home a point. That’s the view of Match of the Day pundit Murphy, who has defended their performance at the Etihad, suggesting the title race remains alive with five fixtures remaining.
Murphy wrote in his BBC column: “I have heard lots of criticism of Arsenal recently – how they have bottled it in games or are falling away again when it matters – but that was certainly not the case on Sunday. It was a disappointing result for them but when they review this game in the cold light of day they cannot be disappointed with the performance.
“They had a real go at Manchester City in the second half and created some really good chances. On a different day they could easily have won this game, they would be nine points clear and we would all be saying the title race is done.
“The reason Arsenal will be kicking themselves is because we did not see this intensity when they lost at home to Bournemouth last week. Maybe that was because they are playing a lot of games at the moment and energy was a factor, but I think it is more to do with mindset.
“I was at Emirates Stadium for the Bournemouth game, and I did not see the energy and urgency from Arsenal that I saw at Etihad Stadium. Yes, Arsenal have messed up recently, but not this time.”
Haaland plays mind games
City striker Haaland, however, has taken a different approach to Murphy. The Norwegian tried to unsettle Arsenal’s players and fans by highlighting the fact they have consistently failed to fulfil their title aspirations in recent campaigns during his post-match interview.
Haaland’s pivotal goal made Pep Guardiola’s side the new favourites to become champions again. And he wasted no time in reminding his bitter rivals of the fact that history appears to be repeating itself once more.
When asked if City were living in Arsenal’s heads, he said: “I don’t know. You need to ask them. The last seasons they’ve come up short. (But) I don’t want to speak too much about them, because they are an amazing team and we should focus on ourselves.”
While Arsenal haven’t clinched a title in over two decades, City have dominated English football with four wins in the past five seasons. The Gunners have now suffered consecutive league defeats at a pivotal point in the season.
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