Mikel Arteta says there were two key reasons behind Arsenal's title race collapse.
The Gunners led the Premier League for 248 days - more than any other side in history who did not end up lifting the trophy - to prompt widespread accusations of "bottling" the league.
Arsenal eventually ended second behind Manchester City, still far exceeding pre-season targets of a top-four finish, but Arteta says the historic collapse "hurts me deeply", echoing captain Martin Odegaard's recent feelings on the matter.
Many pointed to dropped points to Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton as key to Arsenal's failure, and Arteta agrees in part.
"To this day, it still hurts me deeply not having won the Premier after spending 10 months fighting with City," he told Marca. "But that's the sport. That said, what has been achieved with such a young team is worthwhile. That is clear to me too.
"Those three draws in a row penalized us, and all the misfortunes that happened. There were three or four injuries to important players and from there, everything got complicated.
"When we had the full team, we were consistent. As soon as problems came, we couldn't be consistent. And then our rival was the best team in the world; the best squad in the world; the best coach in the world... We had no choice but to accept it and shake hands with the champion."
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Arteta remains full of confidence that he can guide Arsenal to a first Premier League title in two decades, and thinks about it "many" times, but underlined the need for his squad to remain fit.
He continued: "When we started to have injuries, I felt that it was going to cost us. The level of demand could not be maintained.
"If you want to win the Premier against City, you have to get to April and May with all the players available and at their best. And, due to injuries, did not get that."
