Moaning Mikel Arteta's VAR rant shouldn't overshadow Arsenal's shortcomings - Gunners aren't strong enough to truly challenge Man City

The Spaniard's furious outburst at the match officials after Saturday's damaging loss at Newcastle did little to mask the glaring flaws in his team

When Arsenal snapped their 15-game winless streak against Manchester City in the Premier League on October 8, it was billed as the most significant moment of Mikel Arteta's tenure to date. The Gunners finally proved that they are capable of beating Pep Guardiola's side, and moved two points above the champions into second — level with early 2023-24 pacesetters Tottenham.

Arteta's side lost home and away to City last season, and ultimately missed out on the title after a poor run of results down the finishing stretch. But those demons were supposedly exorcised after the narrow 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium, which saw Gabriel Martinelli score a fortunate deflected winner as the visitors endured a rare off-day in the absence of suspended midfield talisman Rodri.

If that were true, Arsenal would have kicked on, and really hammered home their title credentials. Alas, they followed up that statement victory with a 2-2 draw against Chelsea, who let a two-goal lead slip after some calamitous defending in the last 15 minutes of the game.

The Gunners got back on track with a routine 5-0 win against bottom club Sheffield United, but their weaknesses were laid bare once again during a trip to Newcastle on Saturday. Anthony Gordon's controversial 64th-minute goal proved to be the difference between the two sides, and left Arsenal trailing City in the table once again.

Arteta blamed VAR for the defeat, but in truth, Newcastle were good value for the three points. Arsenal only mustered one shot on target in the match — their worst record in a game since way back in February — and they were