After going down to 10 men in a third Premier League game out of eight, Mikel Arteta's men always faced a tough ask to get anything out of Bournemouth. Even with their experience of holding out for a draw at home to Brighton, and then nearly stunning Manchester City with the most defensive and low of low-blocks, playing a man down for an hour away from home was too much.
The Gunners never really got close to causing serious issues for their hosts either and then had to watch as both Manchester City and Liverpool eked out narrow 2-1 wins. The results coming back from the international break leave Arne Slot top of the table after eight games with City one back, and Arsenal a further three adrift.
Aston Villa are level on points in fourth, with Brighton coming up on 15 (two more back), and then Chelsea in sixth on 14. Far from game over for Arsenal, it is an early season blow that Arteta really didn't need.
His side have been among the pace-setters in the past two years but now face the prospect of entering a tricky run of fixtures with more pressure ramping up. City, who are still undefeated, have shown vulnerability without Rodri, but have an inevitable streak.
Meanwhile, Slot's Liverpool overcame Chelsea without being at their best on Sunday, leaving the loss to Nottingham Forest still a big exception to what has been an impressive start. The Reds also have bigger challenges on the horizon but are leading the pack without too much trouble.
Arsenal may well take confidence from City looking off their normal relentless pace. It took a controversial 95th-minute winner to get past bottom-placed Wolves on Sunday. The title race is well and truly on, looking likely to be between three rather than two once more.
Here, football.london has the full list of Arsenal's next five Premier League matches compared to Liverpool and City.
Arsenal next five fixtures
Liverpool (H) - Sunday, October 27.
Newcastle (A) - Saturday, November 2.
Chelsea (A) - Sunday, November 10.
Nott'm Forest (H) - Saturday, November 23.
West Ham (A) - Wednesday, November 30.
Manchester City next five fixtures
Southampton (H) - Saturday, October 26.
Bournemouth (A) - Saturday, November 2.
Brighton (A) - Saturday, November 9.
Tottenham (H) - Saturday, November 23.
Liverpool (A) - Sunday, December 1.
Liverpool next five fixtures
Arsenal (A) - Sunday, October 27.
Brighton (H) - Saturday, November 2.
Aston Villa (H) - Saturday, November 9.
Southampton (A) - Sunday, November 24.
Manchester City (A) - Sunday, December 1.
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