Mikel Arteta bemoaned his options from the bench as Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead against Aston Villa, hours after super-sub Darwin Nunez had saved title rivals Liverpool.
The Reds were able to call on substitutes Nunez, Andrew Robertson, Federico Chiesa, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott as their dominance and fresh legs eventually wore down Brentford and secured a 2-0 stoppage time win in west London.
After Aston Villa had erased Arsenal's lead by the same scoreline, putting them in danger of slipping six points off the leaders, Arteta made just one change from his own bench, bringing on Raheem Sterling for Gabriel Martinelli with eight minutes remaining go – a change. which ultimately did not lead to the victory.
The Gunners – not helped by missing key players at both ends of the pitch – failed in their attempts to sign an all-time forward in the summer, forcing Arteta to admit he didn't feel he had the same options as his rivals . changed a game from the bench as his players battled the physical exertion of a third game in six days.
Arsenal have dropped 12 points from winning positions in the Premier League, the most in a single season for five years and already three more than last season, while their other substitutes against Villa included three academy players, three left-backs and deep-lyers players. midfielder Jorginho.
“There are moments, and it is clear that they (Liverpool) have succeeded (winning),” Arteta said. “They made the subs, and the subs made the impact and changed the game.
“On our side it was the opposite, even after we got the two goals very close. The danger was that I knew half the team could go downhill because we were physically exhausted.”
“I am incredibly proud of this team. It was an immense achievement. But I am very disappointed because defending like we did for the second goal cannot be part of our game if we want to be at the highest level in this country. ” It was nowhere near the required standard.”
Will Arsenal expand their ranks in January?
Arteta appeared to suggest they needed reinforcements in the January transfer window to back up the level of performance he said they showed against Villa, with midfielder Thomas Partey filling in at right-back due to their defensive deficit.
The Gunners are closing in on a deal to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, although the Spanish midfielder will remain at Real Sociedad for the rest of this season.
Arsenal have been linked with a January move for Benjamin Sesko, their top target last summer, although the Slovenian's agent has suggested he will remain at RB Leipzig during this window.
Sky Sports understands that the club are working hard to recruit a striker by the end of the month, but are reluctant to pay the high fees that could come with the winter window.
Asked whether the club will have to move in the transfer market this month, he replied: “If you look at the performances, I don't know how many teams are playing at this level in the league. But if you look at the bench, you'd probably say we're very short.”
On the absence of William Saliba, who missed the match against Villa with what the club called a “minor problem”, Arteta added: “We will have more information on Sunday, but am I worried? Yes, definitely, especially with the numbers we have in the squad, and looking at our bench.”
Arsenal's injury list – Saliba adds to Arteta's worries
The Gunners currently do not have:
Are Arsenal's title hopes over?
Sky Sports' Nick Wright at Emirates Stadium:
It remains to be seen how costly this could be for Arsenal, but the deflated atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium told a story. So did the dejection of the home players as they left the field.
Arsenal obviously still have sixteen games to play. But Liverpool has seventeen and is already six points ahead. It's a huge gap as it stands, and the worry is that it will only widen.
The Gunners lost just nine points after winning last season, the second-lowest total in the Premier League. But their collapse against Villa means their tally for the current campaign is already at 12.
It's a worrying statistic for a side that has developed a reputation for defensive resilience under Mikel Arteta, and there are also problems in attack, with opportunities continuing to be spurned.
There could still be twists and turns in this race, but Arsenal, depleted by injuries and with Saliba now added to the absentee list, exude the aura of a side struggling to keep up.
Arteta has no complaints about handball calls
Kai Havertz briefly appeared to have won the match in the 88th minute, but saw his strike disallowed by VAR after it was ruled that he had turned in Mikel Merino's shot with his arm.
Arteta initially said he had not seen enough angles on the close call, but later admitted it seemed the right decision to deny his side a late victory.
“Yes, I saw it,” he told BBC Sport. 'It doesn't look like much from one angle [handball] and from another angle it looks like handball.
“The decision has been made. We had many more chances that we could have eliminated without that goal.”
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