Arsenal supporters will be hoping they do not live to rue the way the 2022/23 Premier League season has played out.
The Gunners topped the table for the majority of the campaign, but relinquished an eight-point lead over Manchester City with nine games to go. City could now finish as many as 13 points clear of Arsenal in second at the final reckoning this weekend, with Arsenal losing three and drawing three of their last eight matches.
It has been an extraordinary season for Mikel Arteta's men, who finished fifth last season. No one predicted they would be City's closest challengers this year, with many pundits not even putting them in their top four before the start of the campaign.
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Arsenal will be hoping to challenge at the very top of the table once again next season, with the transfer window potentially key to their plans, with technical director Edu needing to bolster Arteta's playing squad.
Former captain William Gallas believes the failure to see the job through this season could go down as a missed opportunity for the players, and he pinpointed exactly where they lost the title race to Pep Guardiola's team.
Speaking to Genting Casino, he said: "I think the start of this spiral was against Liverpool. That for me was the crucial game that cost Arsenal the title, even if people will say to pick up a point at Anfield is a good result, because we all know how difficult it can be to play there.
"When you are on top of the league, playing at Anfield, 2-0 up, you know that if you win that game, you will send out a serious message to Manchester City. I think that if Arsenal won that match, Manchester City’s players would have had to accept that Arsenal were favourites to win the title. I think that psychologically, that would have had a huge effect on the title race – and I know what I’m talking about because I have been there as a player. That is the starting point where everything started to go wrong.
"I do think that the result against Liverpool was the crucial moment in the title race. If Arsenal beat Liverpool, I’m certain that they would have gone to West Ham and won. Winning at Anfield would have given the players and this team so much confidence, they would have felt unbeatable."
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