Mikel Arteta thinks Arsenal were unfortunate to drop points in their last couple of games, arguing the Gunners deserved to win both matches.

After so long at the top of the Premier League table this season, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side have faltered at the most inopportune moment, drawing three games in the lead-up to their title-defining clash against Manchester City on Wednesday night.

Though a point at Anfield wasn’t necessarily a bad result, given Arsenal’s record at the ground in recent years, the subsequent draws against West Ham United and Southampton were much more disappointing.

Against West Ham, Arsenal had raced into a 2-0 lead within minutes, only to throw the lead away as the game went on.

Then in the Southampton clash, the Gunners had to come from behind in the dying moments to even earn a point, after early errors gifted the league’s bottom side a couple of goals.

Speaking ahead of the City clash, Arteta argued that it was only a couple of mistakes that prevented Arsenal from picking up deserved wins in both games.

“Players make a lot of brilliant decisions, and they make mistakes,” Arteta said. “The areas where you don’t make mistakes probably define the extent or the consequences of the mistakes, and obviously, where we made those mistakes, we were punished heavily.

“But looking back at the last two games, taking that apart – we deserve to win both games, without a question of a doubt.”

There’s no doubt that both games could easily have gone differently.

Arsenal played some excellent football at times, and they were only a penalty miss away from three points against the Hammers, or a fortuitous deflection away from a late winner against Southampton.

Unfortunately, they made their own beds with the goals they gave away, and making those same mistakes against Manchester City will surely result in defeat.