‘A long way back now’ – what is going wrong at Arsenal?

Tipped by many to take the next step and end their long wait for a Premier League title this season, is Arsenal’s challenge already over?

Mikel Arteta’s side, runners-up to Manchester City in the previous two campaigns, trail leaders Liverpool by seven points after 10 games following their 1-0 loss at Newcastle United on Saturday.

Blackburn, in 1994, are the only team to come from further back after 10 games and win the title. They trailed Newcastle by eight points but had played a game fewer than the leaders.

The only other clubs to recover a similarly sizeable gap as the one Arsenal must now overcome were Manchester United in 2002-03 and Manchester City in both 2013-14 and 2020-21, with each of those sides trailing by six points after 10 games.

Now three games without a win in the league, and having dropped almost half the number of points as they did in the entire of last season, Arsenal have fallen to fourth – below Nottingham Forest.

“There is still a long way to go in the season but it is a long way back for Arsenal now,” former Gunners captain Martin Keown said on BBC’s Final Score.

“They only have themselves to blame for that. They have kept pace with City for the last two seasons but they just were not at the races. It is going to be a difficult dressing room.

“Arsenal didn’t turn up, didn’t play like champions and they are now nursing their wounds.”

Over the past seven seasons, the top-flight champions have dropped an average of 20 points during the course of their title-winning campaigns.

Arsenal have already dropped 12, having surrendered 25 when they finished two points behind City in May.

Manager Arteta, whose side went unbeaten and dropped just six points in their first 10 games last term, said: “After eight, nine or 10 games last year we didn’t [talk about points] and we won’t talk about it now.

“It’s about how you react to that. We’re not going to find the right words or answers to describe how we feel. We have to put it on that field on Wednesday night against Inter [Milan in the Champions League].

“It’s not about the hope of winning the title, it’s about being our best selves every single week. Today we weren’t our best version.”

Fortunately for the Gunners, Manchester City, champions in six of the past seven seasons, also suffered defeat on Saturday as Pep Guardiola’s side lost 2-1 at Bournemouth.

Speaking on TNT Sports, former England midfielder Joe Cole said: “I think this league title will be won by less points than for a long time because there are too many good teams.

“A lot of people tipped them for the league but I am second guessing that now.”

When making their predictions before the start of the season, 11 of the 30 BBC TV and radio pundits said Arsenal would win a first title since 2003-04.

But, in the absence of captain and playmaker Martin Odegaard, who suffered an ankle ligament injury while on international duty in September, they have not made the start many anticipated in pursuit of ending City’s dominance.

Keown said: “They didn’t show any of their personality and Odegaard was missed more [on Saturday] than I have ever seen.

“It was a seventh different back four in the past 10 games for Arsenal but the Newcastle goal was basics. They have been so good at that before.”

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock said: “Odegaard is the key player for Arsenal. He is not afraid to give the ball away by hitting that killer pass. He is the one missing.

“They had overtaken one of the best teams in the world and people were tipping them to win the league because they thought you were ready for that next step.

“It shows what pressure does.”