For weeks, Arsenal looked unstoppable. Some of them seem vulnerable. But after another unconvincing performance at Brentford, there has been a common theme about Arsenal in recent weeks.
Since the start of the year, Arsenal have struggled to respond to Manchester City’s results in the title race. It was the fourth time this match week that Mikel Arteta’s side have lost a point after playing a game since City.
Manchester City beat Fulham this week, but Arsenal faced their west London opponents the following day. They lost to Manchester United the day after Manchester City beat Wolves.
Earlier this year, they failed to extend their lead against Pep Guardiola’s side at Nottingham Forest hours after City lost the Manchester derby, and also failed to extend their lead against Liverpool after City lost a point at Brighton.
At the same time, when Arsenal were top they looked like a different team. Last weekend, there was no tension whatsoever ahead of City’s clash with Liverpool against Sunderland.
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WATCH FREE: Highlights of Premier League match between Brentford and Arsenal
They went to Elland Road, another difficult venue, and lost their star forward Bukayo Saka during the warm-up. And it was an easy distance ahead of City’s game against Spurs.
Arsenal travel to Bournemouth on Saturday before City face Chelsea on Super Sunday. And even when playing Aston Villa at home, the performance was lacking in Brentford. Once again, it happened a day before City were due to kick off the game.
Arteta has refuted claims that ‘follow-on advances’ are having an impact on the team. “I don’t think so. I think we’ve had a few good performances against them this season and won games,” he said.
He has a point. Arsenal’s wins over Brighton and Everton in December came hours after City’s triumph.
But that was in 2025, and now it’s 2026. The finish line is getting closer and the intensity of other cup competitions is starting to increase. More difficult questions will be asked, and anxiety about crossing the line will increase.
Instead, Arteta said Arsenal’s recent drop in points was linked to a lack of defensive solidity against one of the Premier League’s most chaotic teams in Brentford.
Brentford’s Keane Lewis-Potter scores against Arsenal.
“We have some shortcomings against them. We need to defend against those situations and do a better job of preventing them,” he said.
“You either don’t give them a chance or hope something bad happens and we didn’t manage that well enough throughout the game.”
But could this be linked to the pressure of the game after City? There were moments in the Brentford game where Arsenal just didn’t come into their own.
In the first three minutes of the first half, Gabriel put in a late pass for a corner for Brentford three minutes later and committed a clumsy foul, which led to him receiving two yellow cards and almost being sent off.
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Declan Rice had possession of the ball cheaply while setting up Igor Thiago’s big first-half chance which required a big save from David Raya. It was different and similar to Martin Zuvimendi’s mistake that cost Manchester United an equalizer away at the Emirates in January.
Gabriel Martinelli has now missed big chances against Forest and Brentford. In particular, he performed well in high-pressure areas against Manchester City last September.
Title contention does interesting things to players, which gives rise to the idea that City’s experience of getting over the line is the trump card they have against Arsenal, despite their outstanding squad depth.
Whether the schedule matters or not, Arsenal will need to sort out their recent problems with the ‘post-City game’ quickly.
While they played against Wolves on Wednesday – the next Premier League game City were unable to respond to – Guardiola’s side played first for the next two weeks.
The fixture sees Arsenal face two more London derbies that will pose similar questions to those they faced at Brentford.
A week later they face Tottenham, who may have a ‘new manager’ following the departure of Thomas Frank, and a week later Chelsea travel to the Emirates. And Liam Rosenior’s side showed they can create an unsettling spectacle at the Emirates.
Within five days, Arsenal were nine points adrift at one stage, four points clear and City smelling blood. The race for this title is going well.
