It’s not easy being the laughingstock of your city when you share it with Tottenham Hotspur. Somehow, Arsenal have pulled it off anyway. 

The doubt is even more absurd considering Arsenal sit six points above second place in the Premier League and are favorites to reach the UEFA Champions League final.

But is the doubt warranted?

Just last week, Arsenal lost 2-1 to Bournemouth to bring Manchester City right back into the title race. The week prior, they fell 2-1 to Southampton as huge favorites, crashing out of the Football Association Cup. The previous match Arsenal lost 2-0 to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. It’s been a tumultuous few weeks for the Gunners.

So yes, the doubt is warranted. But how exactly have Arsenal found themselves in a spot where they’ve won only 40.5% of their games in April, compared to 78% in September?

To be fair, their squad has been ravaged by injury.

Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, Jurriën Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino were all doubts heading into the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal — which Arsenal drew 0-0 to advance 1-0 on aggregate.

Rice and Saka are two of the best players in the world. Any team would struggle with both stars sidelined. 

But the woes cut a little deeper with Arsenal. Their football has become far too conservative, and Mikel Arteta’s men shy away from taking risks of any kind.

It’s worth mentioning that Arsenal have one of, if not the, best defenses in Europe.

They’ve conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League with 24. They’ve kept the most clean sheets in the Champions League with eight, despite having played more matches than the side in second place.

But is it worth the attacking sacrifice?

Arsenal began relying on corners to score goals. They wasted time with each set-piece. In other words, they began mastering the dark arts. And that’s all well and good. I think every team needs that to some degree.

But can the league leaders, the tone-setters, rely on such a defensive style of football over a 38-game season?

I think not.

It may be more sustainable in the Champions League, however. You find a goal from somewhere, defend for ages after that and get through to the next round.

In that regard, Arsenal have gotten quite lucky with a relatively easy route to the knockout rounds. Sporting CP and Bayer 04 Leverkusen aren’t the most intimidating teams, after all. Even their semifinal opponents, Atlético Madrid, aren’t very attack minded.

But should Arsenal progress, they’d face either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final. To beat either, they’ll need individual brilliance. They must be able to rely on their players to find moments of magic to get them over the line.

But can a defense-first system do that?

Sure, if their defense holds up. But relying on defense as your primary tactic against Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Désiré Doue — or Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Luis Díaz and Jamal Musiala — doesn’t sound all that wise.

It’s not all bad news for Arsenal fans. Their star players should be back in time for the final, and they beat Bayern earlier in the season.

But that was when they knew how to score goals freely. They took risks and hadn’t yet crumbled under the pressure of possibly going trophyless.

Realistically, Arsenal should win the Premier League, but they play Manchester City this week. If the Gunners lose, the gap is down to three points and City have a game in hand.

Arsenal should reach the Champions League final, but European football is unpredictable. Would it be surprising to see Diego Simeone’s side carve through Arsenal? Well, yes, but it’s possible.

At the end of the day, this Arsenal side is young. They will make mistakes. But for how much longer can the fans tolerate staying the bridesmaid while sides around them have weddings of their own? 

Except for Tottenham fans, of course. That team just got a divorce.