Alexis Sanchez's contract situation is a concern, while Mesut Ozil hasn't delivered in big games this term... five issues for Arsene Wenger at Arsenal

Tis the season for Arsenal to drop points.

It's what they do and it's what they seemingly cannot avoid. Nine days ago Arsenal beat Stoke to sit top of the Premier League. Two games later they sit fourth, nine points behind Chelsea.

In each of those games, against Everton and Manchester City, they led. In both cases they coughed and spluttered to defeat.

It is too early to talk about capitulations and chokes, considering the vast talent and title-winning potential in this Arsenal squad. But it's beginning to look a lot like the old Arsenal wobble at Christmas, and in the context of their ambitions for the crown it might be costly.

Here, Sportsmail looks at five areas of concern for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger.

 

MENTALITY

It is often too easy to use the broad brushstrokes of psychology to explain why a game gets lost. But plainly Arsenal wilted in the face of a resurgence from Manchester City on Sunday, looking inhibited in possession and weak in attempting to regain it. The same could be said to a lesser extent in the more winnable game against Everton, which they also blew from 1-0 ahead.

Graeme Souness and Gary Neville were scathing in their assessments of the side's mental strength after the City collapse.

Souness said: 'It can't be because they're not fit enough, it must be a state of mind, when a certain type of challenge comes along, "It's not for us chaps", and they get rolled over. It's not just about throwing yourself into challenges. It's the way you close the ball down, how you sprint onto the ball, it shows its way in many different forms. To be successful in our football you have to have an element of that, the true aggression.

Mohamed Elneny protests his innocence as Arsenal threw away a 1-0 lead at Manchester City

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger saw his side wilt mentally after going a goal ahead to lose 2-1

'For the first half-an-hour Arsenal were the better side. But it must be a concern for Wenger and Arsenal fans that it was a mirror image from the Everton loss. They were bossing it, they were in their armchair, playing well, and then blow up.'

Neville added: 'Their record in Manchester is poor, I think it's one win in 13. You talk of mentality, to go to Merseyside, to go to Manchester, is where you need that tough mentality to win that title and they just keep falling short.'

It is tough to make a sweeping conclusion, given they showed against Manchester United last month that they are capable of taking points from games when they are poor. Indeed, they have frequently seemed tougher this season than in earlier campaigns. But the past two defeats hinted at a return of a troubling old trait – weakness under pressure.

Graeme Souness did not hold back when assessing what happened to Arsene Wenger's side

Gary Neville accused Wenger's side of mental fragility after watching their second-half fall