On Saturday, Arsenal lost emphatically 3-0 at home against Brighton & Hove Albion meaning that they now sit four points behind league leaders Manchester City, having played two games more.
Finishing second in the English Premier League would have exceeded the expectations of most at the start of the season.
However, after being eight points clear in early April, arguably it was Arsenal’s title to lose and we picked out three reasons why they might not have been able to go all the way.
Saliba injury?
William Saliba was arguably one of Arsenal’s players of the season in the opening stages, but he picked up an injury in March which has seen him been sidelined since.
Rob Holding was the man initially to come in for the Frenchman, and then Jakub Kiwior more recently, and the duo have certainly not had the same positive impact as Saliba had in the side.
Arsenal conceded three times against Southampton and then twice against West Ham United in consecutive weeks, and the question on the lips of the Gunners faithful will be could things have gone differently if Saliba had played these games?
Experience lacking
Last term, Arsenal had the fourth place spot and a chance to be in the UEFA Champions League in their hands, but dropping points towards the later stages of the season meant that they missed out.
Although Mikel Arteta added Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus to his squad last summer, it might be evident that there is still a lack of experience within their ranks after their performances as of late under pressure.
The Spanish boss opted to sign Jorginho in January, a man who has plenty of experience on the world stage, but even with the Euro 2020 winner in his squad, it was not enough to guide them to the title.
City relentless
Manchester City were eight points behind the Gunners at the half way stage of the season, but there was a feeling that the reigning champions would go on a winning streak at some stage as they have done in previous years.
Pep Guardiola’s side are currently 22 games unbeaten in all competitions, winning 11 straight in the league, meaning that Arsenal would have had to go on an almost perfect run from Christmas if they wanted to lift the title.
