By A
bioye Tosin Lawrence, Sports Analyst
Arsenal’s 1–0 defeat to Liverpool in the third week of the Premier League has once again exposed the lingering cracks in Mikel Arteta’s side. The Gunners, despite their impressive squad depth and tactical evolution in recent seasons, seem to have carried over some of the vulnerabilities that haunted them in their last three Premier League campaigns.
The narrow loss at Anfield underscored familiar struggles, missed opportunities in front of goal, shaky composure under pressure, and lapses in defensive concentration. For a side aiming to dethrone Manchester City and establish themselves as serial contenders, these lessons remain unlearned.
Yet, the bigger picture still offers encouragement for Arsenal fans. With Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City stumbling to back-to-back defeats against Tottenham and Brighton, Arsenal stand as the only credible challengers to the Premier League crown this season. The Gunners’ consistency, coupled with City’s early fragility, tilts the title race in Arsenal’s favor, provided Arteta’s men can translate dominance into decisive victories against top rivals.
However, injuries threaten to derail that ambition. Key players have already faced fitness setbacks, testing the resilience and adaptability of Arteta’s squad. To truly announce themselves as champions-in-waiting, Arsenal must not only overcome injury blows but also sharpen their cutting edge in crucial fixtures.
The Liverpool defeat may sting, but it does not diminish Arsenal’s status as title favorites. If Arteta’s boys can learn quickly from these early missteps, the 2025/26 season may yet be remembered as the campaign where Arsenal finally matured into serial champions.
Abioye Tosin Lawrence is the publisher of Oriontimes Online Newspaper and the memoirist of Voices from the Fire: My Journey Through a Hollow Empire
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