For the second week in a row, Arsenal's capability to finish out a title-winning season was tested, and for the second week in a row they came up short.
Just as they were at Anfield last week, Arsenal found themselves 2-0 up in the early stages at West Ham, after goals in the opening ten minutes from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard.
However, the second half brought a dramatic turnaround. In a similar sequence of events to last week's draw against Liverpool, Arsenal shipped two second-half goals, including a sharp finish from Jarrod Bowen, to come away from the London Stadium with just a point.
Their title aspirations are now in serious danger, with the fate of the league no longer in their hands. Manchester City can go within one point of the Gunners by winning their game in hand, and have home advantage when the two sides meet next Wednesday.
If Arsenal do ultimately finish second, it will be a huge step forward from previous seasons' results. Nonetheless, they can expect plenty of questions to be asked of their mentality if they do give up what at one point seemed to be an unassailable lead at the top of the table.
Speaking on Sky Sports post-match, Roy Keane, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, and Gary Neville disagreed on whether Arsenal's season can be described as a success if they do not take the Premier League title.
West Ham v Arsenal: Roy Keane and Gary Neville disagree on Sky Sports
Arsenal's form in the league had been scintillating until early February. Since then, they have dropped points against Everton, Brentford, Manchester City, Liverpool, and now West Ham, to find themselves out of control of their own Premier League destiny.
Out of both domestic cups and the Europa League, they now face a huge battle to salvage the title they seemed at one point on the verge of sealing.
Gary Neville argued Arsenal's case on Sky Sports post-match, before Roy Keane and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink shot back by pointing out how much Arsenal had slipped up in recent weeks.
🗣️ "Arsenal finishing second would still be an unbelievable season"
🗣️ "Not it wouldn't! You're in CUCKOO LAND!"
This disagreement between Roy Keane & Gary Neville 🍿 pic.twitter.com/iWbWrXh3FE— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 16, 2023
Keane even said that Neville was in "cuckoo land" for thinking that a second place finish would constitute an "unbelievable season" for Arsenal.
Neville: Arsenal finishing second would still be an unbelievable season.
Keane: It wouldn't be Gary. No, no, no. No chance. Forget about it, you're in cuckoo land.
Hasselbaink: Not now anymore. They were seven points clear.
Keane: They've been top of the table all season.
Neville: They've gone from fifth, they've got young players...I can't say, because I thought they would drop points and it has now started to happen.
Hasselbaink: But we don't know what's going to happen next year, everyone is going to get stronger. Everybody is going to get better, they might not be in this position again.
Neville: I'm not saying they won't be disappointed, they'll be absolutely heartbroken by it. I still wouldn;t look at it as an outsider who is not an Arsenal fan and say 'it's been a terrible season,' if they finish second.
Hasselbaink: It won't be a terrible season.
Keane: It would be a terrible season, if they finish second. They're out of all the cup competitions - of course, you appreciate that nobody said at the start of the season that Arsenal would be competing to win the league title. But the position they got themselves into was good, they had a great start to the season. Remember, 2-0 up last week, 2-0 up today. These are huge moments. It's huge disappointment.
Arsenal are all but certain to finish at least second this year, in a huge step forward from last year's finish, so calling their campaign a "terrible season" feels harsh. It does, however, feel like déja-vu for the North Londoners, after a similar slip towards the end of the season last year saw them lose out on Champions League football to arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Would Arsenal be disappointed with a 2nd place finish? 🤔
Gary Neville & Hasselbaink do NOT agree with each other 👀🍿 pic.twitter.com/VXwwSOKGSR— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 16, 2023
Roy Keane finished Sky's broadcast by saying as much, pointing out that Arsenal have "previous."
It will be an enormous achievement if Arsenal manage to battle back to wrestle the Premier League from Manchester City's grasp, and no doubt the memory of this season will be defined by the games still to come.
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