Arsenal's pursuit of the Premier League title took a major hit as they succumbed to a 3-2 home defeat to Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta's side once again played it far too safe and tried to capitalise on set-pieces, while the Red Devils fared much better on the night under interim manager Michael Carrick.
The Gunners are still four points clear of Manchester City at the summit, but they've dropped five points in their last two league encounters, which has emerged as a cause for concern at the Emirates Stadium.
While Arteta has faced a lot of criticism about his style of play, Jamie Carragher believes it wouldn't matter if they manage to get their hands on the trophy.
However, the former Liverpool man believes Arsenal lack a superstar up front, which has turned out to be a bit of a problem in recent weeks.
Patrick Vieira criticised Arsenal's attack after their defeat to Manchester United as he singled out Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus for being 'too quiet' in the final third.
The former Arsenal captain's comments certainly carry merit. Viktor Gyokeres hasn't set the world alight since his move from Sporting CP, while none of their other attackers have scored more than five Premier League goals so far.
Carragher believes that is a huge problem for Arteta, although he still believes they will go all the way this season.
He said on Monday Night Football, “There’s a lot of criticism around Arteta and they say he plays with a hand brake on.
"But listen, if he’s going to win the league, he’s going to win it like Mourinho and not like Guardiola.
"Who cares as long as you win and I still think they will win. That’s no big deal. But what I would say is they don’t have a genuine superstar at the top end of the pitch.
"They don’t have someone who can do what Salah did last season, or Haaland did for Manchester City, or what Hazard did for Chelsea. They lack that player.“
After winning each of their seven games in the UEFA Champions League this season, their midweek clash against Kairat is a dead rubber if there ever was one.
After that, though, the Gunners have a run of winnable games as they prepare to take on Leeds United, Sunderland and Brentford in their next three Premier League games.
Arsenal still have a four-point lead at the top, but over the years, Manchester City have always pulled up their socks at the business end of the season.
Having come agonisingly close to the Premier League title two times in recent years, the Gunners will look to go all the way this time around.
And for that to happen, they need their big players to take more initiative in attack in the coming weeks and put games to bed.
