For most of the season all the talk surrounding Arsenal has been about them chasing Liverpool for the Premier League title.
But their shock 2-1 defeat by AFC Bournemouth on Saturday has meant they have won only one of their last five league matches and are now looking over their shoulder as their second place is suddenly under real threat.
The hunter has now become the hunted.
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A fourth defeat of the season for Arsenal means they are only three points clear of Manchester City, who are third.
Their advantage in second position may be reduced to two points by Sunday evening if Newcastle United win their match in hand at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday to go above Man City.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
34 | +48 | 82 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
35 | +33 | 67 |
| 3 |
Man City
MCI
|
35 | +24 | 64 |
| 4 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
35 | +21 | 63 |
| 5 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
34 | +19 | 60 |
| 6 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
34 | +12 | 60 |
| 7 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
35 | +6 | 60 |
| 8 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
35 | +13 | 53 |
| 9 |
Brentford
BRE
|
35 | +9 | 52 |
In little over a month their advantage over these two rivals has suddenly shrunk. When Arsenal beat Fulham 2-1 on 1 April, the three points had put Arsenal 13 clear of Man City and 14 ahead of Newcastle.
And it doesn’t get much easier for Arsenal either, given their remaining fixtures.
They next travel to champions Liverpool a week on Sunday and then have a home match against Newcastle, for whom a victory at Emirates Stadium could leapfrog them into second.
While the Gunners have their eyes on making a comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in their UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg on Wednesday to reach the final, they are still not even sure of a place in the competition next season through their league position.
They lead Nottingham Forest, who sit sixth and just outside the five Champions League spots, by seven points, with 12 available for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to play for.
Rivals' final league fixtures
The biggest issue for Arsenal has been an inability to hold on to leads. This was the first time in three-and-a-half years that they had lost at home when leading at half-time since a 2-1 defeat by Man City in January 2022, but this season it has been an all-too-familiar situation of dropping points from winning positions.
This defeat took to 21 points the total they have lost from winning positions this season, their joint-most ever in a single campaign alongside 2019/20. In 10 matches, they have either drawn or lost having led.
Matches where Arsenal have led and dropped points
| Date | Result |
| 31/08/2024 | Arsenal 1-1 Brighton |
|---|---|
| 22/09/2024 | Man City 2-2 Arsenal |
| 27/10/2024 | Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool |
| 10/11/2024 | Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal |
| 04/01/2025 | Brighton 1-1 Arsenal |
| 18/01/2025 | Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa |
| 05/04/2025 | Everton 1-1 Arsenal |
| 12/04/2025 | Arsenal 1-1 Brentford |
| 23/04/2025 | Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace |
| 03/05/2024 | Arsenal 1-2 AFC Bournemouth |
"We had so many open situations, big spaces, big opportunities to score, and we didn't," Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, said about the Bournemouth defeat. "And then when you defend the box the way we did, and concede from set-pieces at this level, it is very difficult to win the three points.
"We don't finish the actions, and we give so many simple balls away to a team that has so much energy, they run, in transition they are really good. When we have them we didn't kill them, we give them hope, and then they score from set-pieces. It becomes chaotic."
Arsenal's strong point also a weakness?
And while much has been made of their attacking strengths at set-pieces, with a league-leading 16 goals from such situations, Arsenal have also struggled to defend the dead-ball situations at which they are so good at attacking.
Against Bournemouth, Arsenal conceded two goals from set-piece situations (excluding penalties) in the same Premier League match for the first time since December 2023 against Luton Town.
It was the 12th time that they have conceded from a set-piece this season.
Having let in 31 goals in total, this means that 38.7 per cent of the concessions have been from set-pieces, the highest ratio for set-piece goals as a share of total goals conceded in the Premier League.
