Arsenal might’ve lost to Manchester City on Saturday, but this time it felt different.

Four months on from their humiliating 5-0 defeat at the Etihad, the Gunners were able to do something few have managed this season: outplay the champions.

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Even City boss Pep Guardiola admitted Arsenal were the better team, as the Spaniard’s side escaped with a fortunate, last-gasp 2-1 victory.

In those four months between the two fixtures, Mikel Arteta has taken Arsenal from their worst ever start to a Premier League campaign to genuine top-four contention.

And former Gunner Jack Wilshere believes that same upward trend will see them challenge for the Premier League title within a few years.

However, despite Arsenal’s quality, the defeat to City still showed why there are 18 points between the two teams this season.

The Gunners felt a sense of injustice, but they were ultimately the architects of their own downfall as Granit Xhaka and Gabriel hit the self-destruct button.

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Arsenal legend Ray Parlour insists his former side must learn to control winning positions if they want to reach the next level under Arteta.

“It’s about managing games,” Parlour said.

“That’s where Arsenal have got to learn a little bit better – how to see a game out, how to make substitutions at the right stages, how to slow the game down.

“As soon as you go down to ten men, you’re always going to be up against it with the quality of Man City.

“They looked like they might get a point, which would’ve been a fantastic point from an Arsenal point of view.

“But all good sides know how to win games – and that’s what Man City did.”

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Meanwhile, Danny Murphy believes that for all Arsenal’s progression this season, they will still fall short in their race for fourth spot.

The former Liverpool midfielder highlights the club’s squad depth and away form as areas they must improve to challenge with the elite once more.

Murphy said: “I think they’ve had some performances this season where you see a progression, you see a structure that he’s stuck to.

“There is consistency in the selection, some nice relationships in the team, you can see what they’re trying to do.

“Arsenal’s biggest problem is away from home. When they come up against decent opposition, they tend to fall short.

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“On the road, they’ve not shown enough confidence, resilience and quality to look like they can break into the top-four.

“At home, they look like a different outfit. Their challenge is to take that form on the road, which is always difficult, but there has been progression.

“Ultimately, I think they’ll fall short. Even though they’re not in Europe, I don’t think they’ll finish in the top four.

“They’ve got some great young players and they’ve got a decent structure.

“But strength in depth isn’t there. If you take Thomas Partey out of midfield, they struggle. Take one of the centre-backs out, they’re in trouble.”

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Meanwhile, former Chelsea forward Tony Cascarino believes they just need one more new signing to challenge at the very top of the Premier League table.

“If Arsenal this summer have another good recruitment summer where they bring in new players, two or three, imagine how good they can be next year?” Cascarino told talkSPORT.

“For me they are one transfer away from having a side that is capable of challenging and getting close because they have a lot of exciting players.”