Roy Keane believes will look back at two games with particular regret as they seemingly blew their title hopes with a 3-0 defeat to Brighton.
The Gunners had already lost ground on Premier League leaders but has all but confirmed the title will be heading back to the Etihad Stadium
Man City, who beat 3-0 at Goodison Park earlier in the day, now need just three points from their final three games to successfully defend the title.
Arsenal led the title race for so much of the season but have fallen away over the past month and Keane believes two games will hurt Mikel Arteta more than most.
‘I think when you look at the last five or six weeks, the West Ham and Southampton games stand out for me,’ Keane said, in reference to Arsenal’s 2-2 and 3-3 draws with struggling Hammers and Saints.
‘I know they lost at Man City and dropped points against Liverpool but that can happen. They’ve won 25 league games which is fantastic but those two games [West Ham and Southampton] knocked them back a little bit. We saw a team today who looked physically and mentally shot.
‘I think the bottom line is Arsenal don’t have the strength and depth of Manchester City. They have come up short. It’s as simple as that.
‘They will need four or five new players but that’s easier said than done. They need to get the right players with the right character so if they get in this position again, pole position, they will have a chance to see it through.’
Arsenal’s clash with Brighton was goalless for 50 minutes but the visitors scored three second-half goals to leave the Emirates Stadium stunned and gutted.
‘A week ago I was standing here feeling proud and today we have to apologise for the performance in the second halt. It was not acceptable,’ Arteta said.
‘Mathematically, it’s still possible, but today it’s impossible to think about it. We need to digest the result and the performance in the second half, understand why and have a different reaction.
‘Brighton were really good when we became really poor. Before that it was the game we expected. The first half we knew that, the way they play, they make the game competitive.
‘It was difficult to get a long sequence of play. We conceded when they were direct in behind and the second one we gave away was a silly one. Then the team had no answers.
‘We had to be more aggressive and take chances They used the space well and we got punished. I will always defend my players so the person responsible is me.
‘After a defeat like this at home you have to make analysis of yourself first before looking at anybody else.’
Arsenal will attempt to delay Manchester City’s title celebrations on Saturday when they visit Nottingham Forest, while Premier League champions-elect City are in action 24 hours later against Chelsea.
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