Arsenal title chances: Mikel Arteta's Premier League "regret" and defensive concerns analysed

That is the view of Gunners expert Charles Watts, who offered his reaction to Arteta saying that the hunt for glory was "absolutely on" for his side following last weekend's 5-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace, in contrast to Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca repeatedly downplaying his side's chances.

That London derby drubbing allowed Arsenal to close the gap to second-placed Chelsea to just two points, but they remain six adrift of leaders Liverpool, who also have a game in hand on Arteta's troops.

"He just can't wave the white flag at this point," Watts told Sports Mole. "Everyone knows Arsenal started the season wanting to win the title. I don't think he could really sit there and be like, 'oh no, we'll just take it game by game.'

"He will say that at times, but he'll want his players to know that we're still fighting for this, we're still in this, and that's just the type of person he is. I wasn't overly surprised to see him say that. Enzo Maresca's comments, whenever I see him sort of write the chances off, I always just smile a little bit. It's clearly a little bit of mind games type thing. He will know that Chelsea are in the title race."

Arsenal need "major blip" from Liverpool to win title

However, with Liverpool streaking clear of their rivals and Arsenal now set to be working without the influential Bukayo Saka for a couple of months due to a hamstring injury, Watts has conceded that Arsenal may need a minor miracle to win their first title since 2004.

"It's going to take a major slip up for Liverpool if Arsenal or Chelsea are going to get there," he added. "At the moment, that doesn't look like it's happening because Liverpool are just going from strength to strength. But Arteta will absolutely believe his team are in it.

"There's been a bit of a hammer blow to their chances on the injury front, but the gap's not insurmountable. They're just relying on Liverpool slipping up. At this moment in time, they're not slipping up, and when they have, Arsenal haven't taken advantage of that. Looking at the league table and looking at recent fixtures, there'll be a fair bit of regret there."

Much has been made of Arsenal's supposed struggles to score from open play in the current Premier League season, having failed to do so in three straight games against Manchester United, Fulham and Everton before laying those concerns to rest at Selhurst Park.

However, Arteta's men have lost their mean defensive streak away from home, where they have failed to keep a clean sheet in seven straight league games since the 1-0 win over North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the middle of September.

Could Arsenal's defence cause title charge to crumble?

That slender victory marked a ninth shut-out from 10 Premier League matches on the road between February and September for Arsenal, whose number one David Raya - the winner of last year's Golden Glove - is only trailing Jordan Pickford in the clean sheet charts with six compared to the Englishman's seven.

However, Watts is not worried about a lack of rearguard discipline potentially threatening Arsenal's title hopes, highlighting the fact that every single senior defender bar Jakub Kiwior has missed at least one game through injury or suspension this season.

"Arsenal just had so many issues in defence all season, every game is a different back four," Watts added. "I also look at the goals that are conceding, a lot of them seem to be really exceptional finishes week in, week out. You just think, how has he managed to squeeze that in? You look at this XG on some of the games and they're very, very low for what they're conceding.

"So I'm not massively concerned about it. I think when they get a settled back four and get the full-back sorted, they'll be fine. Defence isn't the only issue that I look at right now. The really damaging part for Arsenal if they're not going to win the title, I think it's definitely further up the pitch."

Despite their recent struggles to keep opposing teams at bay away from home, Arsenal will be expected to ease to another three points and clean sheet when Ipswich Town pay a visit to the Emirates Stadium on Friday evening.

Written by

Ben Knapton