Arsenal’s march towards a first Premier League title in over 20 years suffered a major stumble on Thursday morning (AEDT) after drawing 2-2 with bottom-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Gunners were cruising towards victory midway through the second half, holding a two-goal lead thanks to a 5th-minute strike from Bukaya Saka and a goal early in the second half from Piero Hincapie.
But Wolves, rooted to the bottom of the ladder having won just one of their 27 league games this season, pulled themselves off the canvas to engineer a remarkable comeback.
Hugo Bueno reduced the margin thanks to a fine goal on the hour mark, with the Spaniard curling a shot from just outside the box into the far corner, leaving Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya with no chance.
That setup a helter-skelter finish that clearly had Arsenal rattled, and it all came to a head in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
A hopeful cross was whipped into Arsenal’s box and as Raya came to claim it, the usually-reliable Gabriel got in his way.
Raya spilled the ball and it fell to the eager feet of Wolves’ teenage debutant Tom Edozie, who smashed the ball home – via a touch from Gunners defender Ricardo Calafiori on the line – to spark scenes of delirium at the Molineux Stadium.
Arsenal’s players, meanwhile, were “absolutely gutted”, according to legendary former player Paul Merson, while Saka admitted his side “dropped our standards” towards the end of the game.
“Disappointed. Not much else to say,” Saka said on BBC. “There was a big difference in how we played in the first half and the second half. We dropped our standards and we got punished for it.”
Manager Mikel Arteta struggled to put a positive spin on the result, which now leaves Arsenal just five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City.
Crucially, City have a game in hand and are due to play the Gunners in two months’ time. If Pep Guardiolia’s side win both those games and don’t drop more points than Arsenal in their other fixtures, then City will be on top of the Premier League ladder.
“Very tough to accept it,” Arteta said on Sky Sports. “In the second half we did not perform in the way we should and the way we require to win a Premier League match.
“It is better not to judge it, we are all too emotional about it. You have to take the hit because we deserve it.
“It is very easy with emotion to say things that can damage the team. Everyone wants to do their best. You have to go through tough periods. Today at the last minute, we paid the price. We have to do basic things much better than we have done.”
Arsenal remain favourites to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004, but pressure is building on a team that has earned a reputation as England’s ‘bridesmaids’ after finishing second in each of the last three seasons.
Their next game is against arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who will be playing their first game under interim manager Igor Tudor.
There’s nothing Spurs fans would love more than to get their season back on track and destroy their biggest rival’s title hopes at the same time.
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