Mikel Arteta and Arsenal opened the door for Manchester City after they were stunned by Bournemouth – leaving the Spaniard fearing another Premier League near miss
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal could miss out in a title race yet again
After Arsenal’s slip up in the Premier League title race, Mikel Arteta faces the prospect of becoming the first man ever to finish second four times on the bounce.
He watched on as the Gunners were stunned by Bournemouth, who came to the Emirates and left with all three points for the second successive season. It now means that Manchester City can become champions if they win all their remaining games.
One of those is against Arsenal at the Etihad next week, a venue that Arteta has never won at since taking charge of Arsenal more than six years ago.
The Spaniard has earned huge plaudits for how he’s made Arsenal a trophy-challenging force once again. But he’s copped plenty of flack for failing to get the team over the line – last winning silverware in 2020.
Now, with Arsenal trying to prevent a late season collapse, Arteta could become the first manager to ever post four successive runner-up finishes.
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In Premier League history, only Arteta and Arsene Wenger have ever registered a hat-trick of second-place finishes. The Frenchman doing so in 1999, 2000 and 2001. They were sandwiched between league titles, however.
Now Arteta is attempting to become the first man since Wenger to lead Arsenal to a top-flight triumph. But their loss against the Cherries leaves him facing another near miss with City seeking to close the gap and take advantage of their games in hand.
Despite performing impressively for much of the campaign, there remains a realistic possibility that Arsenal could finish trophyless. That is despite some talking up a historic quadruple only weeks ago.
That was before they lost to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and were stunned by Southampton in the last eight of the FA Cup. Their remain well placed in the Champions League, but the likes of Bayern Munich and PSG are also firmly in the hunt.
Arteta admitted in the wake of the Bournemouth loss that his players need to find the stomach for the fight or face being dropped.
He told TNT Sports: “It has to hurt. They have to take it on the chin. You stand up and go for the fight or you’re out. It’s a big week. A lot at stake. We’re still in a good position in both competitions.”
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