One has to laugh because sport is so unpredictable and why you look no further than the next game. When you start looking ahead of yourself then the chances are things will unravel and this is what has happened with Arsenal.
Today they lost to Manchester City who can now draw level on points when they play relegation bound Burnley. The Premier League title is no longer in their hands to control and Manchester City are in the driving seat.
From a neutrals perspective this is great news because a close finish in a title race is what everyone likes to see. There are bound to be some twists and turns so this by no means is all over and we all know pressure can create mistakes. I am always one for the under dog to fight through and upset the odds yet the under dog in this case was Manchester City even though they are a serial winning team who have won the League more than any other side over the last 15 years being 8 times champions.
Over the last month Arsenal have lost the Carabao Cup to Manchester City and lost to Southampton in the FA Cup. The stats will say they had a 36.4% and 63% chance of winning those trophies and they were knocked out. Games are not played on paper and why these stats are totally worthless as any result is possible.
In sport you may say that luck eluded you, but over the course of a season this tends to even out so one cannot feel hard done by and have an attitude of doing better. A team that was 10 points clear 4 weeks ago has only themselves to blame if they let the title slip. When you are at the top with such a lead the pressure is on others to catch you which is basically what has happened here.
The Premier League is definitely not over because if both Arsenal and Manchester City win all their remaining games they will be level on points and this could go down to goal difference. 4 weeks ago Arsenal had a 10 point lead and this has been whittled away and come Wednesday they should be knocked off the top spot for the first time this season with only 5 games to play. If Arsenal had drawn todays game then things would be very different and everyone would be calling the title in Arsenals favor.
Looking at the latest form of both teams Arsenal are the team under pressure and could implode at any time. The manager Mikkel Arteta is so desperate because this could have been a career defining season and he could end up trophyless. This would be very damaging because of the position his team was in not that long ago and shows how cruel sport can be. Losing 4 of their last 6 games at this time of the season is not ideal and why it raises questions with the team needing to find answers.
Success is gauged by what a team accomplishes and what they win and the pressure is mounting up as the trophies they had in their sights evaporate. The pressure is on Arsenal and has been on them all season because they have been leading the Premier League and the pressure is increasing. This is a test of character more than anything else and is a proper test. The pressure of being runners up for for the last two seasons will be weighing heavy on Arsenal which it would for any team having come close.
