Declan Rice's thoughts at the end of the goalless, soulless draw against Nottingham Forest mirrored those of every Arsenal fan in the vicinity and beyond. Those in the stands couldn't hear them, nor those on their sofas. But it didn't take an expert lipreader to make out the words, “every f**king time”.
For the second time in two Premier League games, Arsenal have dropped points against sides they really should have beaten, missing the chance to now be 11 points clear of a stuttering Manchester City side. No, this is not the City of 2023 – but with Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo in their ranks, one would imagine that they will narrow the gap between now and May, even if it's not quite enough. They need no encouragement either way.
