So it turns out Arsenal should have signed a striker. Fourteen months after West Ham last put a major dent in Arsenal’s title aspirations, Jarrod Bowen secured their second successive Premier League away win over their north London rivals as Mikel Arteta’s side saw their hopes of maintaining the pressure on Liverpool evaporate.
To compound Arteta’s misery, the substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly was shown a straight red card in the second half as Arsenal – who had toiled all afternoon with Mikel Merino again filling in as a makeshift attacker – struggled to find an equaliser against a defence that would have done Graham Potter’s predecessor David Moyes proud. Yet while this was a welcome triumph for Potter, it also laid bare the deficiencies in Arsenal’s squad caused by so many injuries to forward players that has made their task of overhauling Arne Slot’s side almost impossible. A first defeat in 15 league games – a run that had stretched back to the start of November – almost leaves them needing snookers, regardless of the fact Liverpool have to play Manchester City and Newcastle in their next two matches.
