LONDON – When Arsenal ran out of energy in the second half against Aston Villa on Sunday, you knew what was coming. There was tension in the air among the home fans. They were quiet. Hectic. Frustrated.
That certainly won’t happen again this season. Right? Right!? Tell me no.
After your surprising 2-0 home defeat to Villa we have an idea about what comes next. But do not need be like that. With six games to go and the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, there is still time to right the ship. But, as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said, the time is now.
Arsenal have been here before. The beginning of a collapse. Last season they capitulated in April and their title dreams were ruined after a dreadful run of two wins in their last seven games.
But this home defeat to Villa left their title hopes on the brink. Opta says Arsenal now have an 18 percent chance of winning the title. Manchester City’s odds increased to 70 percent. Liverpool are on 12 percent.
Following Liverpool’s shock home defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday, there was huge applause in the concourses of the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal fans rejoiced and felt they were about to knock another team out of the title race. But they followed Liverpool’s example. Now they are the ones trying to hang on while Man City step on the gas.
Building negative vibrations
Now it’s all about the answer. Can they prove they learned from last season? Do they have a different mindset to change things?
All is not lost, but the full-time feeling felt strangely familiar when watching Arsenal collapse at the end of last season. Hands on hips. Looking at the field. Fans leaving the stadium silently.
Walking through the streets of north London after the game, fans having a beer in the street talked about how many points Man City have and what Arsenal need to do. There was some questionable math being thrown around.
“I give up,” said one disgruntled Arsenal fan as he did the math. Another neutral spectator chimed in as he passed a pub full of Arsenal fans: “Man City are winning.” The response from Arsenal fans? A resigned: “Thanks for that, mate.”
Given recent results (draw with Bayern and defeat to a very good Aston Villa team), there is a negative atmosphere growing at Arsenal, but it can be nipped in the bud very quickly.
They face Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and can easily win. They then go to Wolves on Saturday and play twice before Man City next play again in the Premier League. Liverpool are struggling. Not everything is lost. They could be back at the top of the league very soon.
That’s where Arsenal can prove this season is different. They learned that last season. Remember: they’ve already done it once this season.
They have shown an omnipotent response already this season
The run of three defeats in five at the end of 2023 made everyone doubt Arsenal. They then won 10 of the next 11 and remained unbeaten in that series until Villa came along and ruined their momentum.
Even though Arsenal were slow in the second half against Villa, perhaps understandably so after their exploits against Bayern in midweek, they were sensational in the first half and could have gone up by three or four. Let’s not forget that.
Arteta said it best: “The time is now.”
Now we will know whether Arsenal’s young team have learned – as they have been saying all season – from last season’s painful title crash.
There is extra composure this season. They have extra depth. There is more trust. But is this enough? Even if it isn’t, Arsenal still look like they will push Manchester City all the way for the title and even if they fall short, that’s still an improvement on last season.
Not everything is lost. But how Arsenal respond to this damaging defeat over the next two games will tell us everything we need to know about how they finish the season.
It was crunch time for Arsenal in April. Again.
