Journalist Simon Collings has now identified one Arsenal star who looks to be losing form and has sent a warning to Mikel Arteta.

The Arsenal defence had a rare off-day against Aston Villa on Sunday. 

The Gunners were beaten 2-0 by the Midlands outfit at the Emirates Stadium, as a quick-fire double late on in the game secured a win for Unai Emery’s men. This result was a significant blow for Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes.

The North London club have now surrendered control of the title race to Manchester City. Mikel Arteta will believe that his side can still win the league, but they will need to win all of their remaining games and are now relying on the reigning champions dropping points.

Given Manchester City’s record and experience, there is every chance that they will win all of their remaining games and not give the Gunners a look in. Paul Merson believes that Arsenal’s title dream is already dead and buried. 

In any case, it is vital that Arsenal bounce back quickly from Sunday’s setback, starting with Wednesday night’s Champions League quarter-final second leg fixture with Bayern Munich. The Gunners must rediscover their best form in Germany if they are to progress to the semi-finals of Europe’s elite club competition. 

Arsenal defence must respond to setback

If Arsenal are to overcome Bayern Munich, then they must be far more solid at the back than they were against Aston Villa. The Arsenal defence has been in a class of its own this season, but cracks have started to show as both Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko were below par on Sunday.

Gabriel has been described as the best centre-back in the Premier League, but the Brazilian looked unsettled and nervy on the ball at time against Aston Villa. Arteta cannot afford for him to lose confidence or form now, as he is such a vital pillar of strength at the back for the Gunners, alongside William Saliba.

Fears grow over Gabriel Magalhaes form

Simon Collings was concerned by Gabriel’s showing at the weekend, and is worried that it could rub off on his teammates. Speaking on The Arsenal Beat podcast, the reporter said, “he’s dropped off maybe a little bit. I mean, he’s been one of the best players this season and had a great game at the Etihad when Arsenal got a point there.” 

“Again, I don’t know if there’s an element of having played an awful lot of minutes, or I don’t know if this is again the sort of pressure of this point of the season, and the impact it’s having on the whole defence and he’s just been a victim of it. Yeah, particularly I thought against Bayern he looked quite shaky…[against Aston Villa] just some uncharacteristic errors…that can sometimes, sort of, spread across the defence.”

Arsenal need the former Lille man to get back to his best. Gabriel and Saliba have been described as the best centre-back partnership in the Premier League. If the Gunners are to stand any chance of landing some silverware this season then they need that duo to continue firing on all cylinders.