Arsenal and Mikel Arteta Premier League title hopes are fading 

After Arsenal lost 1-0 to Newcastle on Saturday night. They are now seven points behind the leaders and, Only Blackburn Rovers have ever successfully return to the top of the table.

Mikel Arteta sigh of relief after the defeat at St James’ Park reflected the bitter truth. That Arsenal are slipping away from the Premier League title race . The manager tried to brush off the pressure with a wisecrack:

“It’s not about hoping to win the championship, it’s about performing to your best every week.”

But the undeniable truth is that Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United has seen the gap between them and leaders Liverpool. Who edge past Brighton at Anfield, widen to seven points. While defending champions Manchester City were beaten by Bournemouth at the same time.

Premier League history tells us that closing in on a seven-point lead after 10 games is an impossible feat.

In the 30 years of top-flight football, only Blackburn Rovers have ever managed to achieve the feat in 1994/95, when they chased an eight-point lead over Newcastle to the title.

But the context back then was very different to today. Blackburn had 32 chances to redeem themselves (in the then 42-game system with 22 teams), while Arsenal had only 28. Moreover, the standard of winning the title in this era has risen dramatically, with seven of the last eight title winners finishing with at least 89 points.

The more worrying statistic is that the Gunners have already dropped nine points from their opening 10 games.

If they are to challenge for the title, they will have to drop no more than 16 points from their remaining 28 games, meaning they will have to perform at a near-flawless level until the end of the season.

Arteta himself seems to be aware of this reality, ทางเข้า ufabet https://ufabet999.app having tried to play down the title race. “We didn’t talk about the title after eight or nine games last season and we won’t talk about it again.”