On the evening New Year’s Day, things were looking pretty rosy for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal. They had just beaten excellent-at-home Brentford 3-1, their fourth win in a row, and were battling on four fronts as they entered 2025.
Three matches later, not so much. A 1-1 draw against Brighton, overall four points dropped in the title race across their two matches with the south-coast club this season, before two cup games, both at home.
The first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final saw Arsenal miss a host of chances before being stung on the break by a dogged Newcastle, who take a 2-0 lead up to Tyneside for the second leg.
Before Sunday, when ten-man Manchester United dealt them another defeat on home turf. Bruno Fernandes’ fine finish put the visitors ahead, before Gabriel Magalhaes smashed home just two minutes after Diogo Dalot was sent off for a second yellow card.
Despite their numerical advantage, Arsenal missed several more massive chances, before being knocked out 5-3 on penalties after Kai Havertz, who had a dreadful day, missed from the spot. Not ideal form coming into today’s match!
