Luckily for the Gunners, Manchester City, champions in six of the last seven seasons, also suffered defeat on Saturday as Pep Guardiola's side lost 2-1 at Bournemouth.

On TNT Sports, former England midfielder Joe Cole said: “I think this league title will be won with fewer points than it has been for a long time because there are too many good teams.”

“A lot of people gave them a tip for the league, but I’m guessing again now.”

When making their predictions before the start of the season, 11 of the 30 BBC television and radio pundits said Arsenal would win their first title since 2003/04.

But the absence of captain and playmaker Martin Odegaard, who injured his ankle ligaments while on international duty in September, meant they failed to get off to the start many expected to end City's dominance.

Keown said: “They showed none of their personality and Odegaard was missed more (on Saturday) than I have ever seen.”

“It was Arsenal's seventh different back four in the last ten games, but Newcastle's goal was easy. They were so good at that before.”

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock said: “Odegaard is the key player for Arsenal. He's not afraid to give the ball away by hitting that killer pass. He’s the one who’s missing.”

“They had overtaken one of the best teams in the world and people were tipping them to win the league because they thought they were ready for the next step.”

“It shows what pressure does.”