Shades of previous seasons continue to haunt Mikel Arteta’s side, as Wolves debutant Tom Ebozie landed a significant blow on the league leaders to draw the scores level 2-2 at Molineux on Wednesday night.
Bukayo Saka’s 5th-minute effort had given the Gunners the lead before Piero Hincapie snuck in behind the Wolves backline after picking up Gabriel’s slick through ball to smash past Jose Sa for the Ecuadorian’s first goal for the club.
From thereon, many thought the contest was over. Arsenal had not been great, but they had a seemingly insurmountable lead over the Premier League’s worst side.
It should have been game over as soon as Hincapie struck to make it 2-0. In the case of an Arsenal side that has been accused of being ‘bottlers’ in previous incarnations, the game can never be over.
Arsenal are seen (and rightly so) as a team drilled to control the tempo of football matches. They often wear the opposition down with ease like no other. Since the turn of the year, Arteta’s side have struggled to replicate that form.
The early signs of drop-off came at Bournemouth in the 3-2 win on January 3. The ever-reliant Gabriel Magalhães placed an uncharacteristically blind pass across goal and straight into the path of Evanilson to open the scoring on that day.
The Arsenal defender then made up for his error almost immediately, firing home just minutes later before a Declan Rice double spared Arsenal’s blushes.
The weeks following saw Arsenal’s blunt attacking force fail to break down Liverpool – who weren’t in the best of form themselves.
The Gunners then put Portsmouth and Chelsea to the sword with convincing away performances in the FA Cup and EFL Cup, respectively, before a disappointing away draw at 17th-placed Nottingham Forest and a disastrous home defeat to Michael Carrick’s resurgent Manchester United put the frights up the fanbase.
Are Arsenal going to fold under the weight of expectation again? The cracks have started to show. Arsenal comfortably beat Leeds and Sunderland in the next two league games but collapsed back into an unfamiliar defensive shape after taking the lead at Brentford before dropping more points in a 1-1 draw.
Then came Wolves – statistically and tangibly the worst team in the Premier League this season on 9 points.
After Saka’s opener, Arsenal struggled to keep the momentum going. Gabriel Martinelli ran the ball into touch on numerous occasions, and Viktor Gyökeres was effectively anonymous once again up front.
When Bueno curled a ridiculous effort past David Raya, Arsenal panicked. All of a sudden, the Gunners’ basic principles of keeping the ball under pressure and remaining calm fell by the wayside. It was astonishing to witness as Arsenal capitulated in front of the footballing world.
Just 30 seconds prior to Wolves’ equaliser, Gabriel Jesus went through with the opportunity to square the ball back for Martinelli but lost possession to Yerson Mosquera.
The hosts were then allowed to play through some tired Arsenal legs and snatch a last-gasp equaliser as a rare miscommunication between David Raya and Gabriel allowed debutant Tom Edozie to knock home the rebound.
This was a disgraceful collapse. Arsenal had the points in the bag and were cruising but faltered when it really mattered. Not for the first time this season, Arteta’s team showed their capacity to crack in the final stages of a fixture that really should have put them well clear at the Premier League summit.
So, what now? Arteta has already issued his rallying cry to the players after January’s 3-2 home defeat to Manchester United, and Declan Rice admitted that some harsh words had been exchanged between the players at Molineux.
If the expectation that Arsenal should win the league this season carries too much weight for Arteta’s squad, then some serious questions will have to be asked about the mentality of this group.
No matter what, Arsenal must get over the line this season. Another summer of mass expenditure and a deep squad full of talent and flexibility means there is no hiding place for Arteta and his players anymore.
It’s now or never.