Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said a title win is still possible for the Gunners, adding that the London side are still ‘mathematically’ in the race for the Premier League trophy.
AF24NEWS reports that Arsenal had control of the Premier League for much of the season, with fans and observers expecting the club to end their 19-year wait for a Premier League title.
Unfortunately for the London club, however, Pep Guardiola’s team maintained pressure winning 11 consecutive league games as Arsenal lost form.
Arteta’s men have now won just two of their last seven games.
“We have to apologise because the performance we had in the second-half is not acceptable,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“Mathematically (winning the league) it’s still possible and this is football but today it is impossible to be thinking about it. We have to first digest the result, the performance that we had in the second half, and understand why and have a very different reaction in the next game.”
Meanwhile, Man City can win the title for the fifth time in six seasons, and for a third year in a row, provided Arsenal lose at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Unfortunately for Arteta’s men, a winning run till the end of the season will not secure them the title provided City win just one of their next three encounters.
City face Chelsea at home on May 21 and their final two matches are against Brighton and Brentford.
However, although title hopes are dim, Arsenal have surpassed expectations just by being involved in the title race. A second placed finish will also mean the Gunners have secured Champions League qualification for the first time in seven seasons.
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But Arteta said his side’s failure to respond after falling behind to Julio Enciso’s header early in the second-half is a red flag ahead of next season.
Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan rubbed salt in Arsenal wounds in the closing stages as Brighton took a huge step towards European qualification for the first time in the club’s history.
“We concede a goal and from there the team had no reaction,” added Arteta.
“When you give away the silly goal we gave away, the second one, the team collapsed and had no answers.
“If the team is able to do that there is something we have to address.”
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard accepted that the title race is as good as over.
“Yeah it feels like that,” said the Norwegian. “It is going to be very difficult now we have to be honest. It is tough to take.
“It is not a good feeling at the moment. The way we played, particularly in the second half, I don’t know what happened to be honest. It feels like there is no hope now.”
Despite their late collapse, Odegaard insisted his young teammates had been mentally tough enough for the pressure of the title race.
“We wanted to come here and continue like we have in the last two games, get a good result and keep pushing. It is a big disappointment,” he said.
“In the first half we did a lot of good things and had moments to create big chances but we gave them more and more momentum in the second half.
“I don’t think mentality was an issue. We were good going into the game but in the game was a different story and we have to accept it and learn from it.”
