LONDON — Arsenal has a week to prove it is not an April Fool’s joke. For the second year in a row, the Gunners started this month aiming for glory at home and abroad.
But Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa leaves Mikel Arteta’s side with a week to save their season, and the Spaniard knows it. With trips to Bayern Munich and Wolverhampton Wanderers coming up in the next six days, a doomsday scenario could see Arsenal’s season come to a sudden halt.
“If a result is going to allow that, then we are not strong enough,” Arteta said. “It’s very simple. “We have no other solution. If you want to win championships, if you want to be present in the Champions League, when you have these moments, you have to stand up. Otherwise, it means that you do not have a very necessary quality. Now it’s a big test for us.”
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The symmetry with last season is very worrying. It’s precisely a year since Arsenal began a run of three wins in their last nine league matches that handed the title to Manchester City and once again, Pep Guardiola’s men are in pole position at the end of a weekend where their two main rivals lost at home.
Villa were excellent here, limiting the home side to just four shots in the second half as their bravery in possession, high defensive line and willingness to engage players forward pushed the home side back. They played with a composure and conviction that Arsenal need to demonstrate in a title race by such slim margins.
The Gunners missed some good chances early on. Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka both hit the side netting as Martin Odegaard slipped between the lines with eye-catching ease. Yet the stability provided by the Gabriel/William Saliba centre-back partnership in recent weeks was lacking as former gifted Ollie Watkins had the opportunity to remind Arsenal of the threat Villa posed, hitting the inside of the post with a shot in the 39th minute that went wide. doubt on Arteta’s side.
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Arteta not thinking about winning Premier League with Arsenal
Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal must win every game to stay focused in the Premier League title race.
Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez brilliantly saved from Leandro Trossard a minute later before Saka curled an effort just wide, but after the break Villa asserted an impressive level of authority in proceedings. Substitute Leon Bailey struck six minutes from time before Watkins finished brilliantly over David Raya as the Gunners were caught on the counter-attack as they chased the game.
Meanwhile, Man City’s relentless and proven consistency at this stage of the season makes every defeat feel like a disaster. Likewise, Arsenal’s hesitations 12 months ago once again leave them vulnerable to the accusation that they cannot produce their best performances under maximum pressure.
Improvements appear to have been made in this regard. The character, experience and determination of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz have given Arsenal a different feel for much of this season. But now is the time when this question will be asked with the most voices.
Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final match is well balanced with a score of 2-2 from the first leg. In the Premier League, Wolves beat City and Tottenham at home earlier this season and will benefit from a clear week to prepare for Saturday night under the lights at Molineux.
Belief is absolutely key to reversing the momentum that their season could get away from them. Arteta did his best to appear defiant when told City had the title in their hands again.
“When you look at the calendar, the games we have to play every three days, it’s crazy,” Arteta said. “SO [dropping points] can happen to any team. It happened in the past. We cannot control everything.
“We can control how we are going to be now. Prepare tomorrow to give us the best chance to go to Munich with a lot of confidence and win the match to advance to the semi-finals.”
Villa manager Unai Emery will never admit it publicly, but he will have scored another victory over his former employers, one which, he ultimately admitted, makes Villa “contenders” for qualification for the Champions League with five games remaining.
Emery’s success at Villa should not hide the mess he left Arteta at Arsenal in the same way that this result cannot hide the spectacular progress Arteta has overseen. But some of his recent decisions may be questionable.
Starting Jakub Kiwior and leaving Jesus on the bench against Bayern looked like mistakes. Here, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Trossard failed to justify their inclusion and Gabriel Martinelli was once again disappointing during his late introduction. The withdrawal of its captain, Odegaard, 11 minutes from time was a surprise. Arteta later insisted he “felt something” and could not continue, but Odegaard told Norwegian channels after the match that he was not seriously injured.
These are minor issues that any manager faces when results don’t go their way, and now is the time for Arsenal to respond.
“After losing a match, players are frustrated and sad,” Arteta said. “But we have a great opportunity that hasn’t presented itself in 14 years at this club to go to the semi-final of the Champions League. It couldn’t come at a better time.”
Arsenal must now prove that this is actually the case.
