And the pendulum swings again.
Arsenal's 2-2 draw at Liverpool last Sunday was not universally viewed as a body blow. A second half resurgence from the hosts, coupled by two superb late saves from Aaron Ramsdale, led to many fans and pundits implying the point taken from Anfield was one gained, as opposed to two lost.
But the narrative following another blown lead yesterday (Sunday), this time at West Ham, was undoubtedly different. Mikel Arteta's men still have a four point lead over Manchester City, but having played a game more - and they still have to go the Etihad on April 26. With the heat well and truly on, Mirror Football rounds up all the latest headlines from the Emirates Stadium....
Arteta asks for "ruthless mindset" after two goal lead slips again
If Liverpool's dramatic comeback was seen as acceptable, then West Ham's was widely viewed as the league leaders losing their bottle. Especially given the usual reliable Bukayo Saka curled a penalty wide when The Gunners led 2-1 in the second half - a miss which soon proved critical as Jarrod Bowen imminently equalised.
Starting with Southampton on Friday, Arsenal now have seven league games left, and after the London Stadium clash Arteta called on his players to strengthen their mentality in the coming weeks: “We need that ruthless mindset in those moments to go and kill a team, " he said. "When the game is there for the killing you have to do it. We dominated the game, dominated the pitch and scored two beautiful goals.
“After that we made a huge mistake to stop playing with the same purpose to score the third and fourth one. We were just thinking we could play around them and maintain the result and just looked too easy. At that moment we gave them hope. Credit to West Ham they took it.”
Defiant Odegaard sends Man City a message
The Arsenal lead is now four points, which could be seven by the time they go to Man City a week Wednesday. By then of course, the champions will have two games in hand, but as long as Arsenal beat Southampton on Friday - and avoid defeat a week Wednesday - then they will remain in charge.
It was a point that skipper Martin Odegaard was keen to emphasise after the West Ham draw. Rather than dwell on dropped points, he instead sent Pep Guardiola and co a reminder.
"We have to remember we are still top of the league with everything in our own hands," he told Football London . "The same mindset, same mentality to make sure we win the next one."
Carragher changing his mind on champions elect?
Back in February, Jamie Carragher implied that Arsenal were clear favourites in the title race, suggesting Man City were struggling for their usual fluidity. He even questioned whether the signing of Erling Haaland had aversely affected Guardiola's men.
Amid Arsenal dropping more points, and Haaland taking his league tally to 32 as City brushed aside Leicester 3-1, the ex-Liverpool man seems to have altered his opinion. He's probably not the only one.
"They’ve still got the lead in the title race but to drop four points at this late stage," he said on Sky Sports after the game. "It feels to me like it will really cost them."
