It's not even anything Arsenal did late season that really lost them it. Sure they lost games and the ones to Aston Villa hurt but it was the end of December that really prevented them from winning the title. They took like 4 points over 5 games or something woeful. Rest of the season they were solid.
So I wouldn't even say they bottled it, they just faltered early in the season and it left them no room for error in the second half of the season. The fact that they kept it this close should still be a massive credit to them