Arsenal on verge of historic collapse, here are the numbers of what could be an implosion for the ages
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal have led the Premier League for most of the year, but their grip on the top spot is slipping with Manchester City closing in.
A few weeks ago this seemed unthinkable. Arsenal were cruising past the competition, with a comfortable cushion over the rest of the challengers in the Premier League. Now things are on the brink of falling apart, and we could be witnessing what would be a historic collapse from Mikel Arteta’s men.
History repeating?
Since just before international break at the end of March, the Gunners have lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City, they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Southampton, and just lost to Bournemouth over the weekend to blow the Premier League race wide open for the final month and change of the season. To make matters worse, they have a decisive match at the Etihad on Sunday that could make or break the season.
For a club that hasn’t lifted the league title in over two decades, this is all too familiar territory. They have already seen a similar implosion back in 2022-23 when they became the longest standing league leaders without hosting the title. That season they spent 248 days at the top of the table, only to lose out to Manchester City. That season they had a five point lead after 32 games played, but City had two games in hand and ended up catching Arsenal to take the title from them and continue their drought in the league.
City have a game in hand, and the heavyweight matchup on Sunday from the Etihad could turn the tides in favor of the Citizens for the rest of the campaign. After watching Arsenal lose to Bournemouth on Saturday, they went to Stamford Bridge and routed Chelsea in a 3-0 victory to cut their deficit to six points.
April blues for Arteta
Arsenal’s nine point lead over City at the end of their 32nd match, was the ninth biggest lead with six games to go in the history of the Premier League. Now it seems like their momentum is gone and they could be the first team to lose such a large lead this late in the season.
To make matters worse, we are in the stage of the season where Pep Guardiola’s teams seem to blossom while Mikel Arteta’s sides begin to blunder. Guardiola has a 79% win percentage in the month of April. In 39 matches, his City side has won 31, drawn five, and lost just three. Arteta´s Arsenal is 11-7-8 in 26 matches, for a win percentage of just 42%.
It’s a crucial week for Arsenal not just in the League, but in Europe. Before setting their sights on Sunday’s massive match up they have to take care of a Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals after narrowly getting past the Portuguese side with a 1-0 win away from home last week. Meanwhile, Pep’s City will have all week to rest and prepare for the biggest game of the Premier League season.
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