Fears are mounting over Arsenal's latest wobble, with concerns raised about the players' body language
Liam Randall
11:52, 27 Jan 2026
Arsenal players react after conceding during the match against Manchester United
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Concerns have been raised over how the Arsenal squad reacted after losing to Manchester United (Image: Offside/Getty)
A former Premier League goalkeeper has raised concerns over the body language shown by Arsenal players during their 3-2 defeat to Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta's side saw their lead at the top of the table reduced to four points on Sunday after they were beaten by a late Matheus Cunha strike. Fears are now mounting that the Gunners could fall short in the title race once again after suffering their first loss of the season at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal have looked dominant for most of the campaign, but ex-United shot-stopper Ben Foster reckons Arteta should be worried by the actions of some team members during the five-goal thriller. The former England international singled out Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice for showing signs of negativity in recent weeks whilst also expressing his belief that Manchester City will pip the Gunners to the post.
Speaking on his Fozcast podcast, Foster said: "It looked like they were melting [against Manchester United]. I think they are starting to feel the pressure and I saw a few signs in the game which I didn't like.
"[I saw] big players flinging their arms in the air because they are losing games all of a sudden. This is what happens when pressure comes. Four points is absolutely nothing. I have said multiple times this season, I still think Man City will win this league.
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"I think this weekend was as bad as it gets for Arsenal. I just didn't like the body language of some of the players, not showing for some of the balls, not making themselves available.
"Then when things didn't go their way, Saka was throwing his arms up in the air. A couple of weeks ago, Declan Rice was on camera, saying, 'Oh, the same old.' And you just think, 'Don't be like this, lads.' How about you all band together?"
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta attends a press conference ahead of clash with Kairat Almaty
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insists his players aren't panicking after their defeat to Manchester United(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Speaking after Sunday's defeat, Arteta insisted Arsenal will not panic as the club pursues its first Premier League title in 22 years. His comments came despite concerns that Gunners fans are also starting to feel the jitters.
He said: "That's part of the demands and expectations that we want to win, and that's it. Individually, everybody can react in the manner that they need to.
"It (the reaction of the fans) doesn't matter; we have to do more, so maybe that's not enough. We have to do more, there's nothing else. We have to do our very best.
“When you do that, you can rest in peace. Today we really certainly tried to do our very best, but we weren't efficient enough against a team that is very well organised and we got punished because of our own mistakes as well."
Meanwhile, Gunners skipper Martin Odegaard said: "It was not good enough from us and we need some time to analyse it. We should've done better but now is the time to stick together more, keep working, push each other more and bounce back."
Arsenal will next face Kairat Almaty at home in the Champions League on Wednesday before returning to Premier League action away at Leeds United on January 31.
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