Would-be Arsenal 'bottle jobs' have far more at stake than north London derby bragging rights in showdown with toiling Tottenham

While you might not have even noticed, and Arsenal's position at the top of the table hadn't really been under threat (until now), it has not been a happy start to 2026 for the Gunners. They have played eight league games since the turn of the year and won just three of them - drawing four times and suffering a home defeat to Manchester United to drop 11 points in what could ultimately prove to be a very costly winter.

For an expectant fanbase, there will be alarming echoes of last season, where six draws and two defeats in their last 13 matches of the campaign saw the north Londoners fall away spectacularly in the title race, with Liverpool ultimately finishing a comfortable 10 points clear at the top. Even before that, Arteta's side had ceded far too many points in draws to ever truly close the gap to the Reds.

This season was supposed to be different for Arsenal, who seemed to have built a squad and fostered a winning mentality so strong that they would be insusceptible to a mid-season wobble. However, their old problems have reared their ugly head.

Arsenal reached a new low in their downturn in form in midweek, surrendering a two-goal advantage away to basement boys Wolves as they stumbled to another damaging draw, with the agonisingly scrappy equaliser arriving in the 94th minute. To put the significance of that blunder into context, this was the first time in Premier League history that the team top of the table had let a lead of two goals or more slip against a side in the relegation zone, let alone bottom, per Opta.

When Piero Hincapie put the visitors 2-0 up in the 56th minute, the Gunners had a whopping 98.1% win probability - but their ill-timed recent fragility was exposed again in the final 30 minutes of the contest. Some scruffy defending from a corner around the hour mark saw Arsenal fail to clear properly and the ball was eventually recycled to Hugo Bueno, who wasn't closed down and whipped a wonderful finish beyond David Raya from the edge of the box.

Wolves' leveller deep in stoppage time was particularly ugly, as a breakdown in communication saw Raya and centre-back Gabriel jump for the same ball, with the goalkeeper only succeeding in patting it down for Tom Edozie, whose strike ricocheted in via Riccardo Calafiori and the post to spark pandemonium at Molineux.

The result means Arsenal's lead at the top of the table has been cut to five points, but they have played a game more than Man City. Arsenal have now dropped seven points from winning positions in 2026, with only relegation-threatened West Ham and Crystal Palace (eight apiece) boasting a worse record in that regard. As Arteta rightly pointed out afterwards, they only have themselves to blame.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, the downtrodden Gunners boss said: "We need to be critical of ourselves because it was not good enough. In the league, it is the reality that we have not been consistent over the last few months. You have to stand up. When you have a moment of difficulty, we have to show how much we want it and how good we are. We have to stand up."

The Spaniard continued: "We have to blame ourselves. I think the performance in the second half didn’t show anything close to the standards that are required in this league to win, and with the margins that I think should have existed today, especially in the manner that we played the first half.

"Any hit, any bullet, take it, because we didn’t perform at the level that is required. I think we need to go through the pain and you need to go through that looking in the mirror and understanding what the game requires now and the next action is on Sunday."

Inevitably, the result at Molineux saw Arsenal labelled bottle jobs on social media and among some pundits. Club legend Paul Merson told Sky Sports: "It's disappointing. You can't play in second gear. When Wolves went to 2-2, there was an urgency. They didn't have that before. You can't play like that. Every game is a cup final to the end.

"You've got to play at a high tempo. If Arsenal play at a high tempo, Wolves can't live with them. But to play the way they played, and it's slow and lazy, and they are giving the ball away, then Wolves are always going to be in the game. It's going come on full blast now, being bottle jobs, melting. It's full-on now - drawing away at Brentford and then being two goals up against the worst team in the league."

Responding to being labelled 'bottlers' in a press conference on Friday, Arteta said: "It's not part of my vocabulary and I don't see it like this because I don't think anybody wants to do that as an intention. I wouldn't use that word, but that's me. That's individual opinion, perspective. You have to respect that.

"You lose two points against Wolves in the manner that the game played out, you have to take it on the chin. What I'm very interested in is the next one, what we are made of, what we love about this and how we write our own destiny from here."

There have been long periods this season where second-placed Man City have not looked capable of reeling Arsenal in at the top of the table, with a new-look squad perhaps lacking the quality and know-how of years gone by. However, thanks mainly to their title rivals' sloppiness, they now find themselves within striking distance.

The schedule plays into their favour, too; with their win over Newcastle in the rear-view mirror, City have a favourable run of games that will see them take on Leeds, Nottingham Forest and West Ham. Arsenal, meanwhile, face a stern test against Chelsea after the north London derby this weekend, before another tricky midweek trip - this time to Brighton.

If they aren't careful, and Pep Guardiola's side build on the recent momentum, then March could see the Gunners dislodged at the top of the table for the first time since September, setting up a mouth-watering chase going into the run-in, with the clash between the two teams at the Etihad on April 18 already looking like a potential title decider.

First, though, is the small matter of Sunday's north London derby - a showdown that could either be the perfect tonic to Arsenal's recent woes, or potentially the match that is the catalyst for yet another 'bottle job' in a title race that they had largely dominated to this point. If it transpires to be the latter, then that will be the ultimate humiliation.

Losing to Tottenham in any given season is bad enough, but if they are beaten when they make the short trip to face this particular iteration of Spurs this weekend, it will go down as one of the most damning defeats the Gunners have suffered in the history of the rivalry. Not only would a loss mean that an advantage at the top of the table that once stood at seven points had all-but evaporated - bringing unbridled joy to their fierce local rivals - but they would also suffer the ignominy of going down to one of the worst Tottenham sides of all time.

Spurs are 16th going into the contest, hovering just five points above the relegation zone. Their horrific domestic campaign to date resulted in Thomas Frank being relieved of his duties in the wake of their latest reverse against Newcastle, with ex-Juventus and Marseille boss Igor Tudor drafted in to salvage something from the remainder of the campaign, even if that is just Premier League survival.

In the cauldron of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the fervent home support will be absolutely desperate to see Arsenal slip up on their turf, the visitors will still be huge favourites. However, the atmosphere and a potential new manager bounce could have a huge role to play in the title race.

The potential psychological damage of failing to emerge with all of the derby spoils on Sunday - especially for a club that has beaten the 'mentality' drum all season long - cannot be understated. Lose, and this new-year blip becomes something much more sinister, especially given an expectant fanbase has shown it is liable to turning on the team quickly when things go awry. If the pressure isn't already getting to them, then it certainly will be if they leave their rivals' back yard licking their wounds.

Victory in the derby, however, could be the shot in the arm Arsenal need to get themselves back on track and, ultimately, over the line come May. To this point they have been worthy champions, albeit perhaps not the most watchable. They were a juggernaut earlier in the season, and heaping more misery on Tottenham should go some way to restoring their confidence.

Any negative result doesn't bear thinking about from an Arsenal perspective; it's win or bust. Anything less and they risk their season going down in the annals of the biggest Premier League bottle jobs of all time.