{"id":43442,"date":"2026-02-18T20:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/bottle-job-paul-merson-gives-cruel-verdict-to-arsenal-as-title-slips-from-his-hands\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T20:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:14:19","slug":"bottle-job-paul-merson-gives-cruel-verdict-to-arsenal-as-title-slips-from-his-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/bottle-job-paul-merson-gives-cruel-verdict-to-arsenal-as-title-slips-from-his-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Bottle job&#8217; \u2013 Paul Merson gives cruel verdict to Arsenal as title slips &#8216;from his hands&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/bottle-job-paul-merson-gives-cruel-verdict-to-arsenal-as-title-slips-from-his-hands\/#Paul_Merson_Take_Premier_League_title_from_Arsenals_hands\" >Paul Merson: Take Premier League title from Arsenal&#8217;s hands<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/bottle-job-paul-merson-gives-cruel-verdict-to-arsenal-as-title-slips-from-his-hands\/#Will_Arsenal_end_up_finishing_second_for_the_fourth_consecutive_season\" >Will Arsenal end up finishing second for the fourth consecutive season?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"1\"><strong><span class=\"\">Arsenal&#8217;s momentum in the Premier League title race appears to be slipping after a disastrous night at Molineux.<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"1\"><span class=\"\">Despite holding a commanding two-point lead against the bottom-placed Wolves,<\/span><span class=\"\">    The Gunners collapsed in the final stages, resulting in a 2-2 draw.<\/span><span class=\"\">    Fans and critics question their spirituality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <span role=\"presentation\"><u>apple<\/u><\/span>  &#038; <span role=\"presentation\"><u>Google play<\/u><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\"><span class=\"\">All three points looked set to be taken as the North Londoners took a 2-0 lead thanks to an early header from Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapie&#8217;s first goal for Arsenal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\"><span class=\"\">but,<\/span><span class=\"\">    Wolves&#8217; frenzied fightback ended with a 94th-minute own goal from Riccardo Calafioli.<\/span><span class=\"\">    Following a defensive mix-up between David Raya and Gabriel.<\/span><span class=\"\">    The result means Arsenal have won just two of their last seven league games.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 612px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Photo by Karl Lesseen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 data-path-to-node=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Paul_Merson_Take_Premier_League_title_from_Arsenals_hands\"><\/span>Paul Merson: Take Premier League title from Arsenal&#8217;s hands<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">After the final whistle, Arsenal legend Paul Merson gave his assessment of the title race on Sky Sports. Arsenal still lead the table with a five-point lead, but Manchester City now have a game in hand and maintain good momentum.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6\">He said (quoted from BBC Sport): &#8220;I know Arsenal have been in this position three times before, but it may never happen again.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6\">&#8220;We&#8217;ve cleared so many points, and then all of a sudden it&#8217;s out of their control. It&#8217;s already in full swing. The &#8216;bottle job&#8217; claims are coming in earnest.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 data-path-to-node=\"6\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Will_Arsenal_end_up_finishing_second_for_the_fourth_consecutive_season\"><\/span>Will Arsenal end up finishing second for the fourth consecutive season?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The haunting ghosts of the past are starting to cast a heavy shadow over Mikel Arteta&#8217;s team.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal have finished runners-up to Manchester City in each of the past three seasons, and this latest setback is painfully nostalgic.<\/p>\n<p>With a daunting trip to the Etihad Stadium still remaining in April, Manchester City are strangled and the pressure is at boiling point.<\/p>\n<p>Arteta must now find a way to stabilize a team that appears to be on edge in crucial moments.<\/p>\n<p>If they can&#8217;t rediscover their clinical edge, they risk a fourth consecutive year of heartbreak and what once looked like a procession of matches will once again turn into a second-place finish.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal&#8217;s momentum in the Premier League title race appears to be slipping after a disastrous night at Molineux. Despite holding a commanding two-point lead against the bottom-placed Wolves, The Gunners collapsed in the final stages, resulting in a 2-2 draw. Fans and critics question their spirituality. Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-43442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}