Richard Keys has claimed another Premier League have made Arsenal lose the title despite losing to Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Gunners suffered their first league loss of 2024 as Unai Emery came back to haunt his former side with a late 2-0 win against Arsenal, with results this weekend putting Manchester City at the top of the Premier League standings.
With the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kai Havertz being slated by pundits for their performances, it was a game to forget for Arsenal as Mikel Arteta’s side and Liverpool lost huge ground in the Premier League title race.
Yet for Keys, this loss against Villa isn’t the result that lost Arsenal the title.
Manchester City draw labelled as match Arsenal lost the Premier League title
Writing in his weekly blog, Keys made the interesting claim that Arsenal’s draw earlier in the month against City could be viewed as the game the Gunners lost the title, given that the north London side had chances to win that match.
The BeIN Sports pundit wrote: “If Arsenal don’t win the title now everybody will look back on the Villa defeat as the day it was lost. I don’t agree.
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“I think they lost it at Man City. They had City by the throat that day. They were the better side, but failed to take advantage of their superiority. I’ve previously said they looked scared to win it – not lose it. There’s a huge difference between those two mindsets.
“If they’d shown just a little more ambition – a little more belief – they could’ve won it and at the same time put City out of the race. If’s, but’s and maybe’s I know, but it was a massive opportunity missed.”
Etihad Stadium draw proved Arsenal could compete for the title
Whilst a good case can be made that Arsenal could have got all three points at the Etihad Stadium, there’s no denying that the north London side played City expertly in their sole goal of winning the Premier League.
The Gunners limited the Manchester giants to few chances and kept the likes of Erling Haaland quiet in what was a defensive masterclass for Arsenal against the reigning Premier League champions.
Although three points were there for the taking, this draw can’t be pinned as the game Arsenal threw away the title, with Arteta’s side still firmly in the conversation.