The Gunners lacked momentum going into the title clash, having drawn against West Ham and Southampton in their previous fixtures. This is not the first time that Arsenal has lost a league game after dropping points in the two previous fixtures.
Last season, the Gunners lost 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium but put up a good fight against City in north London, only to lose 2-1.
It begs the question of the biggest difference between playing home and away that can create such a huge divide in the performances.
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale struggled to put a reason for the differences between performances at home and away.
“I am not sure,” Ramsdale told reporters. “That’s a question I can’t really answer. It’s the first time I have played here as an Arsenal player. Just for the first 45 minutes, we were a yard off the pace in pressing, in battles, in giving them chances. So, as I said, if you want to come here and get anything you need to outrun and out-fight them, and for 45 minutes we were just a bit off.”
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta stressed that to beat Manchester City, one needs to be perfect, but Arsenal wasn’t. As Ramsdale describes, being “off it” for the first 45 minutes can be punished and reflected in the scoreline at the break.
The defeat leaves Arsenal as potential chasers should City win their games in hand. Having led the league all season, Ramsdale reflected on Football. London on how he would rather have the points secured than need to go into games needing a win to confirm the lead.
“I’ve not been in that position this season, so it’s a difficult one to answer,” Ramsdale said. “I know from a personal point of view at the different end of the table, you prefer to have points on the board than be chasing.
“We will just go into each game with five games to go trying to win all five, and we will see where that leads us. Then you never know what can happen.”
Arsenal has five games remaining against Chelsea, Newcastle, Brighton, Nottingham Forest, and Wolves, a tougher run than their title rivals. But the Premier League remains difficult, with City still in two more competitions.
Ramsdale and Arsenal need to beat Chelsea to rediscover their winning form. All they can do now is focus on getting the wins and hoping for the best.
