Did Arsenal Really ‘Bottle’ The Premier League Title Race?

Nobody expected Arsenal to be genuine title challengers this season. A top four finish was the initial aim for Mikel Arteta and his players, but it quickly became apparent that this Gunners team could achieve so much more. Indeed, Arsenal were title race frontrunners for much of the campaign.

Ultimately, Arsenal fell short with defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday confirming Manchester City as English champions for the third straight season and the fifth season in the last six. Pep Guardiola has turned City into a dynasty and there is no shame in the Gunners finishing second to such a dominant force.

Despite this, the growing narrative around Arsenal is that they ‘bottled’ winning their first Premier
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League title for 19 years. At one stage, the North London side held an eight-point lead at the top of the table. They sat at the summit for 248 days, the longest stretch without winning the title in Premier League history.

Arsenal lost both league matches against City this season, but that wasn’t where the true damage was done to their title chances. Instead, it was the 2-2 draw against Liverpool, where Arsenal led 2-0, and the 2-2 draw at West Ham, where the Gunners were also two goals in front, that started a slide.

There was also the 3-3 home draw against bottom team Southampton which was followed soon after by defeats to Brighton and Nottingham Forest. At a time when Arsenal needed to be at their strongest, their most resilient, they won just two out of eight fixtures down the home stretch. They didn’t do enough to win the championship.

The way Arsenal crumbled, however, was partly a product of the pressure Manchester City put opposition teams under. Guardiola’s team have set a new standard at the top of the Premier League where it is now accepted 90 points or more is required to win the title. City are a relentless machine and Arsenal simply couldn’t maintain pace with them.

Liverpool have been the only team to get the better of City in a league campaign over the last six seasons and Arsenal must take encouragement from how Jurgen Klopp’s team rebounded from their own disappointment to grow even stronger. This is why this summer is so important to Arsenal – they must analyse why they didn’t win the title this season and work hard to address their flaws.