Arsenal’s dream of snapping their run of three consecutive Premier League second-place finishes and ending a 22-year wait for the title suffered a significant blow on Sunday, when they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City.
The clash at the Etihad Stadium had long been marked as a hugely significant match in this year’s title race and the Gunners were unable to stop their recent slide which has seen them win just one of their last five games across all competitions.
Arsenal quickly hit back after Rayan Cherki had given Pep Guardiola’s side an early lead when Kai Havertz levelled the scores on 18 minutes, only for Erling Haaland to seal the win when he struck on 65 minutes.
Arteta details why Arsenal fell short at City
After watching his side come up just short in their quest for an equaliser, Mikel Arteta insisted this was a game of fine margins as he looked to explain the defeat.
“I don't think there was any difference between the teams,” the Spaniard told Sky Sports following the defeat.
“There are a few elements. There is an element of luck with whether the ball goes in or not. The second one the ball deflects, it goes to Haaland.
"There is individual quality as well and there is, in that moment, to be so cool, precise and ruthless. You have to be that."
Coming off the back of last weekend’s damaging defeat to Bournemouth, Arteta insisted his players upped their game at the Etihad.
"You could see at the end of the game, and right from the beginning, the attitude of the team,” he added. We could have been a bit more composed in certain moments but we certainly took the game to where we wanted and we had big chances to win.
"We went very close but not close enough and now we have to accept we lost an opportunity today, a big one, but there are still five games to go. We need to reset and go again because there are a lot of positives to take from the game."
The defeat means Arsenal, who have played a game more than City, have seen their lead cut to three points. Guardiola’s men make the short trip to Burnley on Wednesday night, knowing that a victory will see them move to the top of the table with just five games left to play.
Speaking to the BBC’s Match of the Day, the 44-year-old insisted their belief is still there for his team.
“100 per cent,” he said. “I said to the boys, we have to look in the mirror and the team we played in the moment, the history they have, to come back from a goal down. There's a lot of things to take. The difference was in both boxes, that's for sure."
