THE start of a new year is always a good time to take stock - and a three-week Premier League winter break provides Arsenal with a much-needed opportunity to reset.
Mikel Arteta's side have lost their way, with damaging back-to-back defeats by West Ham and Fulham raising serious questions about their title credentials.
Arteta described the 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage on New Year's Eve as their worst performance of the season and said his side were "nowhere near" the required level.
Arsenal have taken just four points from their past five League games and are now five points behind leaders Liverpool after the Reds' 4-2 win against Newcastle last night. They are also only one point ahead of Tottenham in fifth place.
The Gunners face Liverpool in the FA Cup on Sunday, but do not play again in the League until they host Crystal Palace on January 20, and the next three weeks feel crucial if they are to get back on track.
Esta historia es de la edición January 02, 2024 de Evening Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición January 02, 2024 de Evening Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
The era of longevity is almost upon us. But can our minds really keep up?
A post-ageing world is just around the corner, says longevity scientist AUBREY DE GREY, and it’s going to change the way we live
Hidden London
SECRET SPOTS YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO DISCOVER
How Christian Louboutin fell in love with Melides in Portugal
The wild beauty of this seaside village charmed the French fashion designer so much that he made it his home
Actor Millie Bobby Brown romances in Hyde Park, feasts at Sheesh and buys thelot at Harrods
Interview with Actor Millie Bobby Brown
How will Arteta manage without influential Edu?
Arsenal need smooth transition between eras just like Man City
"I had no one in Manchester apart from my PlayStation"
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was a young man rated among the country's most promising footballers when Manchester United came calling in the summer of 2019.
The battle for the soul of Soho
Inside the war between London's porn baron family and the council they say is killing the vibe
At the table: Sad steaks seasoned with despair
Fetch the smelling salts, you're in for a shock: A Restaurant Critic Hates a Famously Terrible Restaurant. Low-hanging fruit? Perhaps.
Class portrait Nobody else writes about middle England so acutely
Tessa Hadley's first novella depicts women in refreshing ways
How a tiny cult radio station in Hackney took over the world
I think the most obscure place I've had a listener email from so far was probably a guy in the Yukon,\" laughs Flo Dill, the host of NTS Radio's flagship morning show.
