Arsenal's Premier League championship charge suffered yet another wobble on Saturday, leaving many Gunners fans to wonder: "Is it really happening again?"
A 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth was a major lifeline for chasers Manchester City in the 2025-26 title race. Mikel Arteta's side fell flat at the Emirates in a lifeless display, only for Pep Guardiola's side to storm to a 3-0 win over Chelsea 24 hours later.
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Having topped the table since September, Arsenal have looked shaky at a pivotal moment in their season. First, they lost the Carabao Cup final to City before being stunned in the FA Cup quarterfinals against Championship side Southampton.
By Sunday evening, Arsenal's lead at the top of the Premier League had been cut to six points, with City (who have a game in hand) breathing down their necks.
If Arsenal fans are grimacing at the idea of facing City at the Etihad Stadium next weekend, it will be partly due to their recent history of stumbling in the final stages of the season.
City have mustered much stronger finishes than Arsenal during the closing stages of the past four seasons -- regardless of their position in the table relative to the Gunners. Arsenal will need to buck that trend if they are to prevent their agonizing wait for another Premier League title from rolling on into a 23rd year.
James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images 2021-22 Arsenal were the youngest squad in the Premier League with an average age of just 24 years and 308 days. They were also never really in the title race, instead jostling for European qualification. Despite being chased hard by Liverpool, City spent the entire second half of the season at the top of the table and eventually won the league by a single point.
By way of comparison, Pep Guardiola's champions claimed 30 points from their remaining 12 games of the season, while Arsenal could only muster 18 in the same time frame, earning them a fifth-place finish and UEFA Europa League qualification.
2022-23
Three years ago, Arsenal were perched top of the table with 27 matches played, five points clear of defending champions City in second, having both played the same number of games.