Instead, it’s Manchester City who are now two points clear, with Arsenal fans now fearing that history will repeat itself after they capitulated at a similar stage last season. But after the Villa clash, Arteta argued that his side were capable of overcoming the setback, and implied the Premier League is considerably more difficult to win than the top-flight in other countries.
“If one result is going to block us, that then we are not strong enough,” said the Spaniard. “If you want to win titles, when you have this moment you have to stand up.
“In any other league in the world if you won the number of games in a row that we did, you would be six or eight points clear. That is not the case here. That is the challenge.”
Former Arsenal player Xhaka has won the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. (Image: Getty)
@DerKaiserBM pointed out that Arteta hadn’t done his research before speaking out, posting on X: “What’s funny is that ‘in any other league in the world’ you would be eight points behind Leverkusen, 14 points (!) behind Inter, seven points behind Real Madrid and that’s only the top leagues.”
Furthermore, @bluntsatoru pointed out: “They won’t be just eight points behind. Taking into account the three more games they have played compared to Bundesliga at this stage, Arsenal would be 17 points behind Leverkusen.”
@janufooty questioned why the Spaniard had opted to take aim at other domestic competitions, despite not being provoked. “Who asked him about other leagues? Focus on your title race and what's left of it.”
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Despite their destiny being out of their hands, the Gunners remain in contention to land a first league title since the famous ‘Invincible’ campaign in 20023/04. But Arteta’s comments could come back to haunt him further this week when they travel to Bayern Munich for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
The two sides are locked at 2-2 after last week’s epic clash at the Emirates. The Premier League side are bidding to reach the semi-final stage of Europe’s elite competition for the first time since the 2008/09 season.
