Arsenal's April curse! SAMI MOKBEL reveals what needs to change for Arteta

It is April and Arsenal appear to be running out of steam. Again.

For the third consecutive season the Gunners are stuttering at the business end of the season.

Two wins from a possible five in all competitions this month has seen Arsenal crash out of the Champions League to Bayern Munich, while their Premier League defeat to Aston Villa last weekend leaves their title challenge in the balance.

‘It is what it is,’ said head coach Mikel Arteta on Friday when asked about his team’s apparent April curse.

‘We have to accept it. In the two games, especially the Bayern one at home, at the beginning it could have been different.

‘I have reviewed the Villa game three times and I think we were the better team.

‘Now it’s not about talking too much, we have to show what we’re made of and turn the situation around.’

Lose at Wolves this weekend and Arsenal will look an April fool.

Here, Mail Sport looks why their form has dipped and how Arteta may try to rectify the situation.

Arsenal will have played 52 matches by the end of the season. It comes with the territory of being a top side and it’s a schedule they will have to get used to if they want to continue among Europe’s elite.

But it’s pertinent to stress that this is the first time this batch of players have faced a season of such intensity.

‘Obviously the calendar continues to be more and more demanding, and we have more games, more competitions, less rest, we have two options - we reduce that or we have more players in the squad,’ said Arteta.

To that end, it appears the workload maybe catching up with Arsenal. The drab second half display in last week’s surprise loss to Villa indicated signs of weariness. Their lacklustre showing at Bayern on Wednesday offered further signs that the