APOCALYPSE NOW?

Perhaps Manchester City and Liverpool cruising to recent title wins made us forget that, deep-set in the making of champions, there will be wobbles, difficulties, forks in the road. As Pep Guardiola would happily tell you now, it’s not supposed to be easy. Just look at Liverpool’s attempts to follow up last season’s serene gambol to the title. The message to Arsenal, to quote the late, great Douglas Adams, is: don’t panic. Mind, Adams also penned this passage in The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: “What’s that, foregone conclusion then you reckon sir?” said the barman. “Arsenal without a chance?” “No, no,” said Ford, “it’s just that the world’s about to end.”

Another message to Arsenal: the world is unlikely to end if the Gunners don’t win this season’s Premier League. Other factors are more likely to bring about the apocalypse; see Big Website for further details. Though it probably feels imminent, Manchester United’s 3-2 win at the Emirates crystallised the doubts in Mikel Arteta’s team. This is Arsenal’s fourth season in contention and a familiar pattern is forming. In season 2021-22, Arsenal went five games without a win in January. In season 2022-23, Arsenal went four games without a win over January and February. In season 2023-24 Arsenal won once over seven games in December and January. In season 2024-25, they won once in five games in January. In season 2025-26, Arsenal have won just once in four games in January so far, with Leeds to visit next Saturday.

The portents of the past are not great, either. Arsenal’s joint-top scorers are Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyökeres, on five each, a historically low total, when stretched to a full season. Both goals on Sunday were decidedly scruffy, while two of United’s were half-chances that delivered the truly spectacular. Where was the xG? Well, frankly, who cares? Amid the prescriptive, proscribed, procedural fare that passes for modern football, someone forgot that taking risks and seizing the moment can win you matches. Arteta’s Arsenal are far less Arsène Wenger’s cavaliers than George Graham’s “boring, boring” 1-0 specialists, though the latter was always an unfair characterisation of a group of players, hard-nosed as they were, who could play a bit.

That, considering the great expense laid out on a squad of all the talents, was what Arteta’s Arsenal were supposed to become. And yet, his battalion of human cyborgs are wracked with nerves, just like fans in the stands who have seen it all before, their anxiety ringing out. Does this mean Arsenal are going to blow it once again? A glance at their chasers suggest there will be openings offered ahead. Guardiola’s worries are shown by haranguing a rookie referee when his team had actually won 2-0 against Wolves. Aston Villa are in danger of running out of players. What Arsenal are going through is something that just about every champion team must deal with. Their lead is four points, 15 games to go. Time to stare down the apocalypse.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

Sunday 27 January, 11.01am: “He should be doing well, but he needs time to do it” – Leicester chief suit Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha goes on the radio to acknowledge that Martí Cifuentes needs longer in the job to achieve the desired results.

Sunday 27 January, 4.21pm: “This has been a difficult decision and not one I have taken lightly. I would like to thank Martí for the total commitment he has shown during his time at Leicester … however, I believe this is the right step at this time to improve performances and results, and to act in the best interests of Leicester City. Martí leaves with our thanks and our best wishes for the future” – turns out Srivaddhanaprabha expected more progress in the five-and-a-half hours he gave Cifuentes to turn things round.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

“There was a disappointing late postponement in the Turkish third tier at the weekend” – Glyn Berrington.

“Re: Michael Bland’s question (Friday’s Football Daily letters): do the Germans have a term for ‘crappy football email of the day?’ Well, of course they do, it’s called Der Fussball Täglich” – John Hodgkinson.

If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Glyn Berrington. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.

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