Explaining why Arsenal have suddenly lost the ability to defend

See that, sailing past Aaron Ramsdale? No, it's not Theo Walcott rolling back the years – it's the general sense of belief in Arsenal's ability to win the Premier League title this season. Goodbye, general sense of belief!

The two are, of course, intrinsically linked. Having conceded 27 goals from the first 29 games this season, the Gunners have let in seven in the last three fixtures – including three against Southampton, who were the joint-lowest scorers in the league before this weekend.

It leaves Mikel Arteta's side five points clear of title rivals Manchester City. Normally, this would be a nice cushion with a month left of the campaign, but this reputable football organ has crunched the numbers and realised that, oh dear, Man City have two games in hand and, ecky thump, Arsenal have to go away to the Etihad this week. (And that, dear reader, is why we get paid the big football analysis bucks.)

With Arsenal's defensive floodgates now legs akimbo, and with no wins in the last three, things are certainly starting looking nervy in north London.

So what on earth is going on? Why is scoring against Arsenal suddenly so easy?

In the video above, FourFourTwo's resident YouTube pundit Adam Clery dusts off the Subbuteo figures to explain where everything is going wrong.

Conor Pope
Online Editor

Conor Pope is the former Online Editor of FourFourTwo, overseeing all digital content. He plays football regularly, and has a large, discerning and ever-growing collection of football shirts from around the world.

He supports Blackburn Rovers and holds a season ticket with south London non-league side Dulwich Hamlet. His main football passions include Tugay, the San Siro and only using a winter ball when it snows.

With contributions from