Arsenal hit choppy waters as title remains agonisingly on horizon

LONDON, April 11 : The tension at the Emirates Stadium was so thick it seemed as though Arsenal's players were wading through quicksand on Saturday as they laboured to a costly defeat by Bournemouth.

Every stray pass was met with groans from the crowd while manager Mikel Arteta's face was contorted with tension at times as his Premier League leaders misfired again.

Victory would have put Arsenal 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League and fans could really have believed that a first English title since 2004 was within touching distance.

Instead, a 2-1 defeat leaves it tantalisingly on the horizon but with choppy waters still to negotiate.

With six games left, Arsenal are nine points ahead of City but crucially Pep Guardiola's side have two games in hand, starting with Sunday's clash with Chelsea.

City host Arsenal next weekend and also face second-from-bottom Burnley a few days later, so they have it in their hands to eradicate Arsenal's lead by April 22.

Should that happen, a fourth successive runners-up finish would become a strong possibility, but this one would represent a crushing blow that Arteta might struggle to recover from.

"We know what is at stake and the fact at the club we have not done it for so long is a difficulty," the Spaniard acknowledged on Saturday after his side's fourth league defeat of the season. "Let's try and do all the things we've done for nine months because that has taken us there."

When Arsenal beat Everton 2-0 in their previous Premier League game almost a month ago there was even talk of a possible quadruple. Since then they suffered a comprehensive League Cup final defeat by City and a shock quarter-final exit in the FA Cup to second-tier Southampton.

A 1-0 win away to Sporting in the