Arsenal's latest setback a continuation of worrying trends

With the latest twist in the title race, the pendulum has seemingly swung dramatically in Manchester City's favor.

Two weeks removed from enjoying an eight-point lead, Arsenal's perch atop the table has dwindled to four. Mikel Arteta's men have gifted ground to second-place Manchester City by settling for draws on the road after blowing two-goal leads in back-to-back games.

Arsenal's latest collapse, however, could prove to be the most damaging to their hopes of winning the league for the first time in 19 years.

A week after squandering their lead and drawing 2-2 at Liverpool, Arsenal looked well on their way to returning to the win column after taking a 2-0 lead 10 minutes into Sunday's clash at West Ham United. But, as they did at Anfield, Arsenal switched off, allowing West Ham to get back into the contest and escape with an unlikely draw despite the Irons' poor form of late.

Now that their cushion has diminished significantly enough to put their title bid in real danger, the pressure has ramped up significantly on the Gunners going into their showdown against red-hot reigning champions Manchester City, who have a game in hand and have won 10 straight matches in all competitions. It's not technically a "must-win" on April 26 for Arsenal, but it sure feels like it.

Whoever wins at the Etihad will likely go on to be crowned champions. On current form, Arsenal will need to produce a special performance to come away with a positive result.

Twitchiness in defense

At the Olympic Stadium on Sunday - like last weekend's draw - it was a frail defense that left Arsenal exposed against a desperate West Ham outfit trying to stay above the drop zone and out of a relegation battle which currently has several teams fighting for survival.

Yet again, the absence of William Saliba loomed large. Unlike when the French stalwart was a regular in Arteta's defense before he got injured last month, there often appears to be a sense of panic when opposing teams apply even the slightest bit of sustained pressure. That was especially the case against Liverpool and West Ham, as Arsenal's lack of composure filled both teams with hope of breaking down a defense that was once among the league's best - and most composed - earlier this season. On Sunday, that hope was kindled before halftime when Said Benrahma converted a penalty to give the hosts life, as West Ham capitalized on a Thomas Partey error to eventually win the spot-kick.

Arsenal, once so sturdy, haven't kept a clean sheet in over a month.

A continued lack of composure at the back gave West Ham further optimism of drawing level. A high lob into the box seemingly put Arsenal defenders into a state of shock as they stood motionless while Jarrod Bowen lined up a volley to make it 2-2 in the second half. Bowen's goal might not have been so damaging had Bukayo Saka converted his own penalty just two minutes earlier.

However, Arsenal's recent attacking woes lie beyond one man's missed effort from 12 yards out.

Lacking ruthless streak

An attack that began the contest so brightly was all of a sudden short on imagination after dominating West Ham in the opening 30 minutes and facing little resistance. Against a team that's far from a defensive stalwart, Arsenal, like last week, worryingly struggled to kill the game off after they jumped out to what initially appeared to be an insurmountable lead.

"The way we started was superb again. We were in total control; then we lost purpose," Arteta said after the game.

"We gave them hope, conceded a terrible penalty, then credit to them. We got on the rollercoaster where everything is going, corners and throw-ins, and we never got away from that."

There was a sense earlier in the season that, no matter what, Arsenal would find a way to win. They often did. That's disappeared at the worst possible time. Their next match, a home fixture against bottom-of-the-table Southampton, is the ideal setting to get some semblance of swagger back and reverse these worrying trends before heading to the Etihad for a contest that both teams will be treating as a title decider.