On April 16, 2023, Arsenal faced West Ham United at the London Stadium and once again surrendered a 2-0 lead, resulting in a draw for Mikel Arteta’s side.

This was not the first time Arsenal had let a lead slip, as the previous week they had also allowed Liverpool to claw back from a 2-0 deficit to hold the Gunners to a draw.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, this result was not ideal as they missed an opportunity to secure a crucial win against West Ham.

This was due to the fact that Manchester City had already claimed three points with a 3-1 win over Leicester City the previous day.

This result for Manchester City has brought them within four points of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

Had the Gunners secured a three-point win against West Ham, they would have been six points clear of Manchester City at the top of the league.

However, now only four points separate both title rivals, with Manchester City having a game in hand.

Despite getting off to a strong start against West Ham, with Gabriel Jesus scoring the opening goal in just the seventh minute, Arsenal could not hold onto their lead against the Hammers.

Three minutes later, captain Martin Odegaard doubled the lead and put the visitors in a commanding position.

However, West Ham was not prepared to concede the match and pulled one back with a penalty from Said Benrahma in the 33rd minute.

In the second half, Bukayo Saka had an opportunity to restore Arsenal’s two-goal lead but missed a penalty, which ultimately proved costly.

West Ham capitalised on this miss, and Jarrod Bowen volleyed in the equaliser in the 54th minute.

Despite Arsenal’s best efforts to find a winning goal, they couldn’t break down West Ham’s defence.

The Hammers even came close to claiming all three points themselves, with Michael Antonio’s header hitting the crossbar in the 82nd minute.

The draw left Arsenal with 74 points after 31 games, four points ahead of City, who have played one game less.

The two teams are set to face off at the Etihad Stadium on April 26, which could decide the title.

Arsenal’s failure to secure a win against West Ham was a significant setback in their pursuit of the Premier League title.

The team’s tendency to let leads slip away is a worrying trend that they will need to address.

The Gunners will need to regroup and perform better if they want to maintain their lead over City and claim the title this season.