It was two minutes that could define the Premier League season.
After Michail Antonio was adjudged to have handled Gabriel Martinelli’s shot, Arsenal and Bukayo Saka had the chance to dampen a resurgent West Ham and put themselves 3-1 up.
Saka – fresh off scoring all four of his Premier League penalties for the Gunners, including two this season – had the chance to almost certainly guarantee Mikel Arteta’s side another victory and put their lead at the top back to six points over Manchester City.
But the 21-year-old – who is in the running to be the Premier League player of the season after a fine campaign – remarkably put his penalty wide of Lukasz Fabianski’s goal and the Hammers and their supporters were immediately lifted.
Two minutes later a hopeful ball over the top from Thilo Kehrer found Jarrod Bowen and he fired past Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale – although the Gunners No 1 perhaps should’ve done better with the effort as he palmed the ball onto the post and in.
Bukayo Saka missed a crucial penalty for Arsenal on Sunday as they drew 2-2 with West Ham
Two minutes after Saka’s penalty miss, Jarrod Bowen equalised for a resurgent Hammers side
The Gunners are now just four points clear of Manchester City, having played one game more
The Gunners looked shell-shocked and struggled to regain their composure for the rest of the game. It could’ve been even worse if Antonio’s effort had not clipped the post late-on.
The 2-2 draw came just a week after Arsenal had similarly thrown away a 2-0 lead at Anfield when facing Liverpool and leaves their title hopes hanging in the balance.
Arteta’s side are now just four points clear of Man City having played a game more ahead of one of the biggest matches in Premier League history next Wednesday when the teams face off at the Etihad.
Before then, Arsenal host Southampton on Friday night and are likely to go seven points clear with City not in action due to the FA Cup semi-finals.
But, given all season long fans have suggested Arsenal will implode, with two disappointing away draws, are they really beginning to?
It had all started so well at the London Stadium as the Gunners raced into a 2-0 lead within the first 10 minutes thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard.
They appeared to be cruising before the Hammers were awarded a penalty after Gabriel fouled Lucas Paqueta, with Said Benrahma making no mistake from the spot.
It’s self-inflicted goals like this that are beginning to harm them, with Thomas Partey guilty of giving the ball away in the build-up when he tried to flick it over Declan Rice.
While there were question marks over whether Paqueta went down too easily, Gabriel’s lunge was reckless and gave referee David Coote a decision to make.
By giving away this goal, the struggling Hammers received a lifeline and despite some superb saves at Anfield last week to keep his side in the game, Ramsdale will be disappointed with Bowen’s equaliser.
Questions are beginning to be raised whether Arsenal are starting to implode in the title race
West Ham’s penalty was slightly soft but it was a reckless lunge by Gabriel on Lucas Paqueta
Aaron Ramsdale then should have done better with Jarrod Bowen’s effort which levelled the tie
Against Liverpool, it could’ve been even worse if Mohamed Salah hadn’t, like Saka, blasted his penalty wide after Rob Holding’s clumsy challenge, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White were beaten too easily for the Reds’ equaliser.
There is no doubt Arsenal are ahead of where they were expected to be at this time of Arteta’s stewardship, having gone from a team not even in the Champions League to title challengers after previously finishing eighth twice.
This is evident in their squad depth, with the absences of Zinchenko and William Saliba – who has missed the last four games – both hitting them hard yesterday.
Holding is a huge drop-off from Saliba and found himself being bullied by Antonio during the latter stages of the match, while Tierney – no doubt a top quality left-back – struggled to have the same impact when tasked with coming inside into midfield like Zinchenko.
Partey has also been crucial for the Gunners in spite of yesterday’s mistake. However, in the five games he has not featured in, they have had two of their three defeats this season.
It must be noted things are looking better elsewhere, with Jesus in superb form since returning from a knee injury he suffered at the World Cup.
The former Man City man now has four goals in three starts and given Leandro Trossard deputised so well in his absence, the Gunners have superb depth in attacking areas.
Eddie Nketiah – who also impressed initially when Jesus was out, before missing the last six weeks with an injury – returned late off the bench on Sunday and he provides another option alongside the imperious trio of Odegaard, Martinelli and Saka.
Given where they’ve come from, it is remarkable for Arsenal to even be in this position but if they were to miss out on the Premier League title having been top for pretty much the whole season, it would be a major blow for Arteta and Co.
The Spaniard must now preach calm ahead of the final period of the campaign, but things are not going to get any easier with a tough run-in to come.
Gabriel Jesus has been in fine form since returning from a significant knee injury last month
Arsenal’s attacking assets are purring, but problems are beginning to emerge in defence
Mikel Arteta now needs to revitalise his side ahead of their final seven games of the campaign
After the Southampton and City clashes, Arsenal face five more games.
But in there they have a London derby against Chelsea and – despite the Blues’ quite frankly dreadful season – Frank Lampard will surely manage to get his side up for that one.
They also travel to Newcastle in what is most likely the toughest fixture on paper, before hosting in-form Brighton – who continue to blow teams away with their superb style of play.
Arsenal end the season with a trip to an embattled Nottingham Forest before hosting Wolves on the final day.
The one thing they do have in their favour is that they’re only fighting in one competition, whereas Pep Guardiola’s side are still on course for a treble.
Along with eight league games, they could also face six other fixtures if they are to get to the final of both the FA Cup and Champions League – meaning City may have seven more matches than Arsenal between now and the end of the season.
However, their run-in is much friendlier, and apart from Arsenal, the only top half sides they face are Brighton (seventh), Brentford (ninth) and Fulham (10th).
There is also the added fact City look in imperious form having won their last 10 games in all competitions by a margin of 37 goals to four.
They also have previous for the run-in, with City infamously winning an astonishing 18 of their final 19 games in 2018-19 to pip Liverpool to the title by one point.
Similarly, last season, from Christmas onwards, they won 15 out of their final 20 games, losing just once as they again edged out Jurgen Klopp’s side by one point to win their fourth title in five seasons.
Manchester City have history when it comes to getting into top shape during the title run-in
Pep Guardiola’s side are in superb form, having won their last 10 games and scored 37 goals
City are a juggernaut when the pressure is on and they know what to do, evidenced by their recent run of form after a dip in the aftermath of the World Cup.
Whatever happens, we’ve been treated to another superb title race by two great Premier League sides where the picture has constantly changed throughout the season to the point Pep Guardiola’s side now seem to be favourites.
Arsenal will more than likely go seven points clear on Friday when they entertain Southampton before that crunch clash at the Etihad next Wednesday.
Arteta needs to get his side rested and revitalised after a chastening afternoon on Sunday as we now enter the all-important stage of the season with it all still to play for.
