Jamie Carragher has further criticised Arsenal's players after they let a 2-0 lead slip for the second successive Premier League game.
Mikel Arteta's side appeared in total control at West Ham on Sunday, dominating the early stages with goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard. But then things unravelled, with Said Benrahma pulling one back with a penalty and after Bukayo Saka missed a spot kick of his own in the second half, Jarrod Bowen levelled matters.
It followed Liverpool also battling back to take a point from the Premier League leaders the previous week, and speaking on Sky Sports after the London Stadium clash, Carragher implied that Arsenal's latest slip could prove pivotal : "They’ve still got the lead in the title race but to drop four points at this late stage, it feels to me like it will really cost them," he said.
And speaking ahead of the Monday Night Football clash between Leeds United and Liverpool, Carragher doubled down on his previous assessment. However, the pundit did refute widespread suggestions that The Gunners were losing their nerve amid pressure from Manchester City.
"When you're in the run in for a title there's always that question mark against a team that's not won it before, have they got the nerve?" he said. "And when they lose a game or drop points, 2-0 up this week, last week, have they bottled it?
"This idea that Arsenal have bottled the nerve, I think it's completely the opposite. When you talk about a team getting nervous in the run in, you can't play as well as they did in the first half hour at Anfield, or the first half an hour of this game if they're going into it tense. The football was out of this world.
"The problem Arsenal have had is they've got complacent, they've got cocky. I mean that game was so easy, I was commentating on it and couldn't believe there was a way West Ham could get back into it."
Arteta's men can now ill afford anything less than a win when they host rock bottom Southampton this coming Friday. Having played a game more than their title rivals, the lead is now down to four points with a clash at the Etihad looming on April 26.
For his part, their Spanish boss has called on his players to be more clinical from winning positions : “We need that ruthless mindset in those moments to go and kill a team, " he said after the West Ham draw. "When the game is there for the killing you have to do it."
