Did Arsenal Just Hand Momentum To Man City In The Title Race?
Did Arsenal Just Hand Momentum To Man City In The Title Race? Arsenal’s defeat at the Emirates on Saturday could prove to be more than just a bad result, it might be a turning point in the title race. Mikel Arteta’s Gunners surrendered to Bournemouth 1-2 late on in the Premier League in disappointing fashion.
Within only 17 minutes, Eli Junior Kroupui smashed in a volley into the far side of David Raya’s goal following some clumsy defending from the Arsenal back line. However, with the break approaching, Viktor Gyokeres restored hope of a comeback, equalising at 1-1 from the penalty spot with his 11th Premier League strike of the season. Defensive lapses prove costly again Inside the 74th minute, Alex Scott decided the title leaders’ fate, capitalising on yet another poor Arsenal defensive display, with the 22 year old finding the back of the net from close range to make it 1-2.
Only ten minutes beforehand, Gyokeres had a second ruled out for being offside, but even at this point Arsenal were struggling to create much to extend their current lead at the top of the table. It was never going to be easy against Andoni Iraola’s side, who had already defeated the men in red and white earlier this season at the Vitality Stadium by the same scoreline. In fact, the Cherries have become something of a bogey team in recent times, with Arsenal only beating them twice in the past five encounters.
On top of that, the Dorset side are the only team in the 2025-26 campaign to have stopped the North Londoners both home and away. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) Title race still in Arsenal’s hands, but warning signs remain Arsenal did not have a lot going for them throughout either half, and it was frustrating to see how they currently lead Manchester City in the title race, having done so for 32 games with six remaining. Despite Arsenal famously going the whole 2003-04 season unbeaten to secure their last Premier League title, it is unrealistic to expect any side to win every match across a full campaign.
However, Bournemouth on paper should have been beaten, which ultimately did not happen. Arsenal remain top of the league and could still define their season by clinching what would be their first title in 21 years this May, something many younger Gunners were not around to witness. In a more pessimistic scenario, if Arsenal were to lose two or three more league matches from here, something that cannot be ruled out based on this performance, it could turn into yet another painful collapse from a winning position.