Arsenal draw shows them feeling the pain of an extended title hunt

O bjects in the rear-view mirror may be closer than they seem. For what feels like at least a decade now, from way back in the early years of this endless Premier League season, Arsenal have maintained their lead over Manchester City at the top of the table, keeping that sky blue vessel of sporting perfection in the near slipstream all the way from autumn into spring.

At the final whistle on a muggy, sullen afternoon at the London Stadium five of Arsenal’s outfield players slumped intothe same position, bent at the waist, staying on their feet, but kidney-punched, feeling that wash of late-season nausea.

A 2-2 draw here meant that an eight-point lead had become five points, had become four points and might yet become one point. That black-clad skinny-legged figure in the rear-view mirror, fists pumping, eyes bulging, has seemed distant at times. Glance back now and he’s right there, a single hand clamped down on the rear bumper, never breaking stride.

How do you stay ahead of this Pep Guardiola-led engine of perfection, the most powerful squad, the greatest manager, the most coherent nation-state project team ever assembled? It is a question nobody has really managed to answer consistently over the last five years.

And yes, it will still be tempting to castArsenal’s failure to win this game as evidence of some fatal competitive weakness, a character flaw, a rabbit-hearted collapse. Twice in successive Sundays Arsenal have taken a two-goal lead and simply plateaued, lost their vim and drive, and ended up holding on like a leggy heavyweight.

They were 2-0 up here with 10 minutes gone against relegation-menaced opponents. They glided around around West Ham’s players for long stretches of the opening half-hour, a team