Why 'vulnerable' Arsenal are failing to scorepublished at 08:15
08:15
Media caption,
Match of the Day's Stephen Warnock described Arsenal as "vulnerable" after failing to score for a second consecutive game.
Reflecting on the Gunners injury-hit frontline, Warnock said: "If Liverpool lost Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Coady Gakpo, then they wouldn't be in the position they are in.
"It is tough for Arsenal because they have lost these players but there has got to be a desire to get in the box and run forward.
"They are vulnerable to the counter attack so it is understandable that they have gone back-to-back games without scoring."
Arsenal's challenge remains the same after Forest draw - Arteta published at 22:46 26 February
22:46 26 February
Nick Mashiter BBC Sport football news reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Arsenal's season is still alive and their draw at Nottingham Forest changes nothing, says boss Mikel Arteta.
The second-placed Gunners fell 13 points behind leaders Liverpool after Wednesday's 0-0 draw, as they failed to score for a second successive game.
They face PSV in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday but their Premier League titles hopes appear over, especially after Liverpool's 2-0 win over Newcastle.
Arteta said: "It's about what we can do. It was like this a week before, two weeks before, three months before. Today we dropped two points which is very painful, we have the Champions League, a beautiful competition in front of us.
"I'm very disappointed not to win, the standard was different to the previous game [a 1-0 defeat to West Ham] with the energy and the willingness to make things happen.
"We dominated the game, apart from one experience in the second half and one or two giveaways which allowed them to run. Apart from that nothing. When we opened them up we lacked the quality in the final pass and delivery and be more efficient."
'We lacked that spark'published at 22:08 26 February
22:08 26 February
Image source, Getty Images
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, speaking to BBC Sport: "[We showed] unquestionable character, how much wanted it and tried.
"We dominated the game. We tried in many different ways. We insisted but lacked that spark, that final pass to unlock a well organised team. We have to generate more shots on target.
"Very different standard [to the West Ham defeat]. We defended with energy, purpose, fight, willingness to make things happen. It wasn't because we lacked that. We tried until the end but weren't able to do it."
On their lack of strikers: "Same as before. It's what we have. We look forward to working with what we have."
On the title: "It was same a week ago, two weeks ago, three months ago. The only thing we can do is win our matches and see how many points we get."
On the result: "It doesn't feel good. We're here to win."
'The final piece of the jigsaw' - Seamanpublished at 14:34 26 February
14:34 26 February
Image source, Getty Images
Former Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman is refusing to give up hope on the Gunners' chance this season but accepts that getting a striker would be the "final piece of the jigsaw".
"We always needed a striker. We tried in the transfer window and now hopefully there is one lined up in the summer, but that will be a bit too late," Seaman told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast.
"We have been playing this type of football for a long time and [getting a striker] will be the final piece of the jigsaw. That will hopefully be what makes it [winning the Premier League title] happen next season.
"I am privileged that I go into Arsenal once a week and I see the players training. The way Mikel works, he is getting the best out of his players. The whole training ground is all together.
"I would definitely not go down that route [of changing manager] because we are getting better and better. We are now serious contenders for the league, we have a good chance in the Champions League and it is a progression.
"The next step to that is getting a striker."
Arsenal fan and YouTuber Charlene Smith believes the club's owners need to take responsibility for the title challenge fading.
"I feel like injuries are out of our control, but I do feel like we needed to do business in the January transfer window," she said. "We have needed a striker for so long and we have released a lot of players but have not replaced those we let go.
"They need to take ownership of that and accept we should have got more players in. If we had, the season could have been looking a lot different."
Sutton's predictions: Nottingham Forest v Arsenalpublished at 10:50 26 February
10:50 26 February
Saturday's home defeat by West Ham was a real hammer blow for Arsenal's title hopes.
They need to bounce back and find a way of beating Nottingham Forest, but this is a tough trip after such a devastating result, and I am not so sure they will take the points here either.
Forest are not in great form themselves, and got a bit of a walloping at Newcastle. Nuno Espirito Santo was clearly unhappy with some of his side's defending in that game.
But how are Arsenal going to score goals? I don't know at the moment.
If Gunners boss Mikel Arteta needs a left-back, he has got a few of them on the bench. Unfortunately he needs a centre-forward, and there is not one of those to be seen.
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal: Did you know?published at 10:29 26 February
10:29 26 February
Image source, Getty Images
Arsenal won this fixture 2-1 last season, but have not won consecutive away league games against Nottingham Forest since a run of four between 1987 and 1990.
'A sad, but perhaps inevitable way for Arsenal to bow out of the title race'published at 07:22 26 February
07:22 26 February
Laura Kirk-Francis Fan writer
Image source, Getty Images
As the late February sun was setting over the Emirates on Saturday, the North Bank was bathed in golden light. On the pitch, however, things were categorically not golden.
Arsenal's 1-0 home loss to West Ham felt like it all but ended their title hopes, especially as Liverpool swept past Manchester City in Sunday's late kick-off to go 11 points clear of the Gunners
Only the most optimistic Arsenal fan will now not have conceded that Arne Slot's side will be crowned champions.
The atmosphere at the Emirates was a strange one this weekend. In previous games, with Arsenal desperately chasing a goal to win the game, the stadium and fans are often nervous and impatient. There is an energy, a bubbling sense of frustration, with supporters aching for that release when the ball hits the back of the net.
What stood out this week was that the lacklustre display on the pitch was almost directly mirrored by the lethargy in the stands. Perhaps the biggest cheer of the day was for David Raya's sprint technique in full flight, by which point the game was lost.
That atmosphere was reflective of what many fans had feared - this result had been coming, and there was nothing that could be done to prevent it.
Mikel Merino's surprise double at King Power Stadium had acted as a temporary amnesia for the 80 minutes during which Arsenal huffed and puffed and failed to blow Leicester down. On Saturday, there was no such miracle.
When Jarrod Bowen's header hit the back of the net, it was as if a giant balloon had been popped.
Usually, when conceding at the Emirates, the crowd immediately rallies, with the players enthusiastically making their way back to the centre, ready to rectify the situation.
There was none of that this weekend. There was no fight in them left, and the crowd could feel it too.
It was a sad, but perhaps inevitable way for Arsenal to bow out of the title race.
'We will have to do something nobody has done in Premier League history'published at 12:17 25 February
12:17 25 February
Image source, Getty Images
Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will have to make "history" to win the Premier League given the injury setbacks and points deficit they are battling.
The Gunners face a trip to Champions League hopefuls Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night, after suffering a disappointing defeat to West Ham on Saturday at the Emirates.
Speaking about their chances of winning the league ahead of their trip to The City Ground, Arteta said: "The difficulty is higher than three days ago. But, if you are going to win the Premier League you have to do something special.
"If you are going to win the Premier League with the circumstances we have you will probably have to do something that nobody else has done in the history of the Premier League."
Arsenal are currently nine points off league leaders Liverpool but have a game in hand. After finishing second in the last two Premier League seasons, Arteta - who has refused to say his side are too far behind - insists his staff and players still believe.
"We know how quickly things can change - you have to be there, we all deserve to continue in that fight," Arteta added.
Arteta on 'a disappointing weekend,' White's impact and the title fightpublished at 10:16 25 February
10:16 25 February
Henry Brownsey BBC Sport journalist
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest (kick-off 19:30 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are "progressing really well" but still have "a bit far to come back". Ethan Nwaneri was just cramping up at the weekend and he will be fine.
After Arsenal's loss to West Ham and Liverpool's victory at Man City Arteta said: "It was a disappointing weekend - the previous 15 games we had won 10 and drawn five - exactly the same as Liverpool with exactly the same goal difference. We have been extremely consistent."
He said Saturday's defeat was "a really hard one to take", adding "The reality is there are so many games to play and you have to get back to it."
Asked if he would give up on the title race, Arteta said "over my dead body" and that he would "go home" if he didn't feel they could win the title.
On how difficult it would be to still win the league: "The difficulty is higher than three days ago but if you are going to win the Premier League you have to do something special. If you are going to win the Premier League with the circumstances we have you will probably have to do something that nobody else has done in the history of the Premier League."
He said the players will also not give up, stating: "We know how quickly things can change - you have to be there, we all deserve to continue in that fight."
On Forest: "Unbelievable - what they are doing and what he [Nuno] has done, but also what he did at Wolves was incredible. Huge pride for him, the coaching staff, the club as well. What they have generated after coming into the Premier League is a remarkable story so well done to them."
He said Arsenal's discipline has been a "big problem" but added: "There's a lot of factors that have contributed to that, different kinds of red cards."
He described Ben White as "a player that has given us something very, very special," adding: "We haven't played the right unit at all this season with him, Bukayo [Saka] and Martin [Odegaard]. It's great to have him back, more options, energy, how he is around the team - he has certainly been missed."
'Hopefully Myles has learned a lesson' - Nevinpublished at 08:04 25 February
08:04 25 February
Pat Nevin Former footballer and presenter
Image source, Getty Images
The problem with enjoying others misfortune too much, is that in football, it will always come right back and hit you.
This has an been unforgettable season in terms of deep satisfying schadenfreude for the frustrated old school football fan. Arsenal had been getting sympathy in recent seasons. Though not exactly serial league winners in the last 20 years, the Gunners are rightly considered one of the big guns.
The thing that has turned some fans away from hoping they overturn Liverpool is their style. Physicality is fine, but when it leans too far over towards the dark arts, then sympathy and support vanishes quicker than their recent title challenges.
The classic example came at the weekend when the young and clearly brilliant defender Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off. Before the youngster had even reached the tunnel, every true football lover was thinking about his celebration after scoring against City. Mocking another player is taking a chance but "taking the mick" out of Erling Haaland when you are only 18, having just scored your first goal compared to Haaland's 310, that was always going to rebound painfully in his face. Hopefully Myles has learned a lesson.
That line between admirable super confidence and disagreeable arrogance can look very blurry from a distance. He is young, his Buddha celebration was clearly meant as a bit of fun, so we should give him another chance. I know I will.
Gossip: Gunners ready to make Isak movepublished at 07:34 25 February
07:34 25 February
Sweden striker Alexander Isak may be allowed to leave Newcastle if they do not qualify for next season's Champions League, with Liverpool and Arsenal interested in the 25-year-old. (Mirror, external)
England manager Thomas Tuchel has held talks with Arsenal full-back Ben White over an international return, with the 27-year-old having not played for the Three Lions since 2022. (Sun, external)
Amo: Another gutless performance with no answers to an opposing team that had been struggling. Poor show as once again we bottle it when fans could see the opportunity to narrow the gap on Liverpool. Not worthy of being champions at this rate.
AJ: There's no point in us being angry or upset. The harsh reality is that we got hit by bad luck. Getting a striker like Alexander Isak, another world-class player, and Bukayo Saka back will take us to the next level and the league title! I see good days ahead. We just need to stick together as Arsenal fans.
Richard: Dreadful performance! Poorest match this season. Lopsided midfield, lots of defenders... other clubs have injuries so we are not different. Having two shots on target is pathetic! Need a top coach to sort this out now or next season will be no different.
Stuart: If you persist at playing at walking pace for most of the game, then this is entirely predictable. Graham Potter could have handed out cups of tea to his defence. They had that much time! Arsenal's poorest display of the season by a country mile.
West Ham fans
Michael: Huge result and performance at Arsenal. You can see the effect Potter is already having on the team and our defence in particular. Last time out Arsenal scored five against us and now we get a clean sheet at Emirates Stadium. Aaron Wan-Bissaka proved once again he is one of the season's best signings. Delighted too for players like Ollie Scarles and Aaron Cresswell. Can't wait now for Evan Ferguson to get match fit and start scoring.
Monty: Excellent away perfomance as we limited Arsenals chances to one good save and then countered superbly. AWB again proving himself as this season's best signing for West Ham. Lets hope we take this performance on to Leicester - consistency is key!
Barry: Great display from the Hammers. Defensively strong, quick and direct attacks. Mohammed Kudus had one of his best games this season. Jean-Clair Todibo and Aaron Creswell were great at the back. Scarles and AWB had great games and James Ward-Prowse was excellent. We look like a team that knows what is expected of them under Potter.
Harry: Amazing performance. Defended brilliantly and took our few chances well. Now need to see how we operate when we are attacking rather than defending majority of the game. Excellent performance still and Scarles is a hero.
Gossip: Arsenal in race to sign Nypanpublished at 07:07 24 February
