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Manchester City and Arsenal Faltering – What's Behind the Drop in Form?

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Before the start of the season, both Manchester City and Arsenal were among the favourites to win the Premier League and to have a deep run in the Champions League. However, recently both clubs experienced a bit of a slump. Let's discuss what could be behind this drop in form.

Manchester City's Struggles

Pep Guardiola has been with the team since 2016, and since then the team has enjoyed unmatched success. They won the Premier League in the 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2020/2021, 2021/2022, 2022/2023, and the most recent 2023/2024 season.

However, if you thought they would have an easy upcoming season, you would be in for a surprise. They've lost 2-1 to Tottenham in the EFL Cup and 2-1 to Bournemouth in the Premier League. But their worst and most recent loss occurred in the Champions League against Sporting. In this match, they conceded 4 goals and were only able to score once.

Arsenal's Struggles

Arsenal currently sit in 5th place in the Premier League. In the 10 games that they have played, they have managed to get 18 points for 5 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses. Arsenal have been winless in the Premier League since October 19, when they suffered a sobering 2-0 defeat, courtesy of Bournemouth. Arsenal also received a red card in the match. Bournemouth are a team sitting in the middle of the table, which means they are a team that the Gunners feel they should be swatting aside with relative ease.


Since then, the team from London has drawn 2-2 with Liverpool and lost 0-1 to Newcastle. While they beat Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League and Preston in the EFL Cup, in their most recent UEFA Champions League appearance they lost to Inter Milan.

Injuries

Manchester City

  • John Stones: On City's side, John Stones got an ankle injury, and it is not clear when he might be able to make a return.
  • Kevin De Bruyne: Arguably one of the best football players in the world, Kevin De Bruyne has also been absent from playing for 9 games. Although he played the last 2 matches for City, he only played for a short time against Sporting. This means that he still may not be completely fit.
  • Jack Grealish: Jack Grealish has also been out with injury, however, we don't know what's wrong. He is set to return on November 23.
  • Rodri: To add to the struggles, the current Ballon d'Or winner Rodri is currently recovering from an ACL injury and will probably be out of play for the foreseeable future.

Arsenal

  • Martin Odegaard: The Arsenal captain missed 12 games. He was able to return against Inter Milan, but the fact that he was missing for so many games was definitely felt on the pitch and could have impacted the team psychologically.
  • Kai Havertz: The German star has been recovering from a head injury. He should return on November 10.
  • Declan Rice: The talented Englishman sustained an ankle injury. He should be able to return with Havertz.
  • Riccardo Calafiori: The Italian injured his knee but should be back later this month.

Fatigue and Pressure

Mental fatigue may be a major problem, especially since the clubs are expected to put up a good fight in every match and give top performances across all of the various competitions they are involved in.

City and Arsenal are still reeling under the psychological pressure brought in by title aspirations coupled with growing expectations of fans and media alike. I think most people who partake in football betting would say that Manchester City will still take the title despite their less-than-ideal recent results.

Manchester City do have pressure to live up to because of their winning campaign last season. When every team wants to be the one to beat the champions, it can be exhausting for the players, who may mentally lapse and fatigue on the pitch.

Arsenal came into this season with fresh hope after narrowly failing to claim the Premier League title. The pressure, though, that comes with high expectations of a young team can sometimes be draining and reflect in performance.

Knowing that one loss may just rule them out of the title race, the mental burden piles up, making it tough for consistency to be attained by the team. At the end of the day, if they had just one more win in the previous season, they would have won the Premier League.

Stronger Competition

Over the past few years, many English Premier League teams have become more competitive, particularly Liverpool, Tottenham, and recently emerging clubs such as Aston Villa and Brighton. With that increased competition, every fixture becomes tougher than before. Therefore, these "easy" games cannot guarantee City and Arsenal 3 points.

Liverpool are much improved this season, challenging City's dominance at the top. Arne Slot's side is proving to be more resilient. Nottingham Forest have been coming up with outstanding performances, and the fight at the top has turned more intense. For Arsenal, matches against the likes of Newcastle or Tottenham are proving more challenging, adding to the physical and psychological demands each week.

Rotation and Squad Depth

Both Guardiola and Arteta have had to rotate their respective squads to keep players' fitness in check, especially with the added demands of Champions League football. The problem is that not all squad players can match the quality of first-choice starters, as has been seen during matches.

Manchester City, despite all the depth in their squad, have often been found troubled when they had to rotate key players, especially in positions like defence and midfield. Replacing the consistency of Rodri, even just for a game, can sometimes disrupt their structure.

Similarly, Arsenal's options when rotating players have been subpar. If Saka or Martin Odegaard are having a rest, it is felt.

Arteta lacks the squad depth that Guardiola has. Without experienced substitutes to plug in comfortably, Arteta is mostly forced to fall back on younger, inexperienced players, especially in midfield and in defence.

Final Words

Recent struggles of Manchester City and Arsenal may stem from a number of factors involving injuries of key players, mental and physical exhaustion, increased pressure of rivalry, and issues with rotation and squad depth. While these issues are challenging to deal with, they are also part of what makes the Premier League so competitive.


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