Mikel Arteta has admitted "something is missing" for Arsenal at the moment as it attempts to chase down Liverpool and Arne Slot in the Premier League title race

A day that began with Newcastle United's six-game winning league run ending with a 4-1 home drubbing by Bournemouth finished with Villa ensuring that none of the five matches resulted in home wins.

Mikel Arteta believes that ‘there’s something missing’ after seeing his Arsenal lose more ground on league leaders Liverpool. Kai Havertz thought he had helped the Gunners score

Arteta has shown a propensity to speak his mind this season, whether red cards he's never seen before, penalties that fit the same description, or even the balls used in different competitions, so get your popcorn ready.

William Saliba missed Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa because of a hamstring injury and Mikel Arteta provided a concerning update on his star defender post-match

Arsenal had to start putting together the sort of run that saw them be almost perfect in the second half of last season but two more dropped points, their eighth draw of the season, leaves them with a lot of ground to make up. There have been red cards to point to in the other games but this result was of their own making.

After leaders Liverpool could not draw against high-flying Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, Arsenal took full advantage 24 hours later with a 2-1 victory over rivals Tottenham in the North London derby

Thomas Frank was on the losing end of the Nunez’s inspired comeback – and the Brentford boss has since given his verdict on Arne Slot’s side, even tipping them to beat Arsenal in the title race. Having now played all the teams in the title mix – it seems like the Brentford boss now knows who he rates the highest.

Arsenal have dropped 12 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, their most in a single campaign since 2019-20

Video Late drama over the disallowed goal aside, this is a game that Arsenal should not have lost yesterday, but the dropped points go a long way to hammer home a problem we’ve all recognised of late: we need reinforcements as a matter of urgency.

Gary Lineker admitted he had ‘no doubt’ about Kavanagh’s decision, an opinion echoed by fellow pundit Danny Murphy. “No doubt about the handball was there?” Lineker said.