Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead to draw against West Ham and hand Manchester City a huge boost in the nail-biting Premier League title race at the London Stadium
Bukayo Saka missed a penalty before West Ham equalised (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s title race advantage was cut to just four points following a disastrous performance at West Ham in which they threw away a two-goal lead.
The Gunners raced into an early lead through Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard but Said Benrahma hit back from the spot before Jarrod Bowen equalised.
Daily Star Sport have now taken a look at three things Mikel Arteta got wrong with Manchester City and Pep Guardiola handed a huge boost.
Wrong – Not showing bottle
Having held on to their lead during a period of West Ham pressure at the end of the first-half, Arsenal fell apart after Bukayo Saka’s missed penalty.
The Gunners couldn’t deal with the West Ham pressure and fell asleep as Jarrod Bowen smashed home past Aaron Ramsdale to send the home crowd into raptures.
Arsenal then failed to take hold of the fixture with West Ham pushing for a winner – with Arteta left scratching his head and looking out of ideas.
Wrong – Failure to react
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal took an early lead – but things didn’t go to plan (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal fans were left scratching their own heads on social media with Arteta delaying his first substitute until after the hour mark with West Ham rallying.
The Gunners bench included the likes of Leandro Trossard, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson, who have all proved their ability to impact games from the bench in the past.
Arteta’s failure to react didn’t go down well with fans, as one said: “Arteta needs to make subs asap….”
Wrong – Bad habits
Jarrod Bowen equalised as West Ham rallied (Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
Having avoided throwing away a two-goal led for three years at the club, Arteta’s Arsenal did it twice in seven days when it mattered most.
Having almost lost at Liverpool after taking an early 2-0 led, West Ham managed to put the same pressure on the Gunners in their title pursuit.
The result gives Manchester City a huge boost following six consecutive victories of their own since drawing with Nottingham Forest in February.
Source: dailystar.co.uk
