Arsenal’s title hopes are slim because they struggle in tough matches; all five times they dropped points this season were against the Premier League’s top 8 teams.

The 15th round featured a battle among the top three, with third-placed Aston Villa hosting the league leaders Arsenal. Aston Villa snatched a last-second winner at home to defeat Arsenal 2-1, narrowing the gap so that Manchester City is only 2 points behind Arsenal and Aston Villa just 3 points off the summit, bringing the Premier League title contest back into question.

Following Arsenal’s 1-2 defeat to Aston Villa, many supporters and media outlets believe that Arsenal, having finished second three times consecutively, have no chance of winning the Premier League this season. Why this conclusion? Because Arsenal cannot perform well in high-stakes matches.

After 15 rounds in the Premier League, Arsenal have 10 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses, totaling 33 points. This means Arsenal have dropped points in 5 matches this season.

Arsenal’s performance against teams in the upper half of the Premier League table this season has been mediocre. The five matches in which Arsenal dropped points are:A 0-1 away loss to Liverpool, a 1-1 home draw with Manchester City, a 2-2 away draw against Sunderland, a 1-1 away draw with Chelsea, and a 0-1 away defeat to Aston Villa.Arsenal drew against second-placed Manchester City, fourth-placed Chelsea, and seventh-placed Sunderland, lost to third-placed Aston Villa and eighth-placed Liverpool, and only managed wins against sixth-placed Crystal Palace and ninth-placed Tottenham. This indicates that all five matches where Arsenal dropped points were against teams ranked in the Premier League’s top eight.

Arsenal have four Premier League matches left in December. Besides facing the relegation-threatened Wolves, they will also play fifth-placed Everton, tenth-placed Brighton, and a second encounter with Aston Villa. December is crucial for Arsenal; dropping too many points could allow Manchester City and Aston Villa to catch up, causing Arsenal to lose control of the title race. Meanwhile, Manchester City’s strength continues to grow with new signings settling in, and Aston Villa have won 9 of their last 10 Premier League games, showing excellent form.