Arsenal's Lack of Ruthlessness Costs Them Against Manchester City 2026

Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-1 to close in on the Premier League leaders

Match Recap The image of Mikel Arteta on his knees in his technical area as Kai Havertz headed over a stoppage-time chance will be etched in the minds of many Arsenal fans. Unfortunately for the Gunners, missed opportunities and a lack of a ruthless finisher were the story as Manchester City beat them 2-1 to close in on the Premier League leaders. The match was billed as the Premier League decider by many and just like in the Carabao Cup Final last month, City got the better of Arsenal. Erling Haaland held off Gabriel Magalhaes and swept in City's winner in the 65th minute to seal a 2-1 victory as the momentum of the race swung towards Pep Guardiola's side - and showed the importance of possessing that killer instinct. ## Post-Match Analysis The Gunners pushed City all the way in a tightly-fought contest and both managers referenced the 'small margins' of the game, but missed chances for Arsenal are the reason the title race is now wide open. Arsenal have seen their lead at the top of the Premier League drop from nine to three points. The difference was in the boxes - Arteta said, 'The reality is that in the two boxes today was the difference - and that's what decided the game.' ## Arsenal's Forwards Struggle It is rare for a team to be challenging for the title without a forward in the conversation for team of the season, but it is difficult to argue against the fact that is where Arsenal are. Man City's Haaland and Antoine Semenyo will undoubtedly be in contention for the end-of-the-season awards while past title-winners have boasted the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero and Didier Drogba. Arsenal's available forward options of Gyokeres, Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke, Eze, and Gabriel Jesus undoubtedly have their strengths - but it feels a stretch to call any of them ruthless match-winners. The all-round play of Gyokeres has been questioned and he is often only effective against sides that aren't at the top end of the table. ## Arteta's Comments Arteta named a side that attempted to play on the front foot and included Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard in the same team for just the fourth time this season as he tried to get his team to dominate the ball. Havertz led the line in place of summer-signing Viktor Gyokeres and he was the man to bring the Gunners level, minutes after Rayan Cherki's brilliant opener, with his block on goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma's clearance bouncing into the net. But it was the two missed chances from the German international that will be remembered. Arteta said, 'That's really difficult, I mean we hit the post and I just look at the images. It's incredible how the ball doesn't go in. So there is an element of luck. There is an element there of timing, of execution. It's a lot of things that have to be your way.' ## Title Challenge The good news for Arteta and Arsenal is that despite losing, the title challenge is still in the side's hands even if momentum is with City. The Arsenal manager said his side are 'more convinced' they can get over the line after their defeat. 'They were talking about it in the dressing room,' Arteta said. 'They have a game in hand. We have three points of advantage and five games to play. So everything is still to play for. We're not going to stop and we're going to go again, that's for sure.' With five games to go and with goal difference potentially playing a crucial part in deciding where the title goes, Arteta will hope he can get one of his forwards into killer form.