Mikel Arteta has branded elements of Arsenal’s performance against Wolves as “unacceptable”, blaming Arsenal’s “passive” and “horrible defensive habits” that allowed Arsenal to equalize in the final minute.
In the end, the Gunners won 2-1 thanks to Wolves’ second own goal of the night. The victory extended their advantage at the top of the Premier League to five points, but it was far from a direct showdown with the club at the bottom of the division, and Wolves’ 90th-minute equalizer was almost costly.
Arteta said his side were “passive” in the moments before Tor Arrocodare’s header brought Wolves level at 1-1, rather than praising his team’s “resilience” for fighting back with a Jelson Mosquera own goal in the 94th minute. The Gunners benefited from receiving the ball through goalkeeper Sam Johnstone early in the second half.
Arteta said of the final stages, “He was completely passive for two or three minutes deep (blocking) with some bad defensive habits.” “This is far from the level required against a team that had not taken a single shot before. The first time they had a chance, they scored. (Wolves’ goal was their third shot).”
“I’m relieved that we managed to score a goal at the end and go for the win, but we certainly need to improve in that sense.
“I’m not going to chalk it up to, ‘Yes, resilience is good.’ We should have stopped the source beforehand. That’s our responsibility.”
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice react after Arsenal conceded a late equalizer to Wolves. They would go on to win 2-1.
“I have to give credit to Wolves. We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game but the way we conceded the goal made it even more difficult. This is unacceptable.”
Arteta explained that he has no problem with his team going deep. Rather, what he didn’t like was their behavior within that defensive structure.
“They’re putting a lot of guys in so we can defend deep. There will be moments where they can’t press. That’s fine. But the activity level of that block should be a lot different than what we had.”
Arsenal players celebrate final win against Wolves
Arteta was not only frustrated with the way his team progressed in the final stages of the game, but also unimpressed by the Gunners’ failure to capitalize on promising positions in the first half, when they failed to get a single shot on target.
Gabriel Martinelli missed a good chance from close range with his head, the first time this has happened in the Premier League this season.
“Martinelli had a big chance with two yards left, but he was completely free and couldn’t score,” Arteta told TNT Sports.
“But once we got to the danger zone, we struggled to find the red shirts in the box. We were in that situation a lot. And we didn’t create many clear chances. We did that a little better in the second half and scored goals.”
Arsenal’s White limps ‘buys ticket due to further injury’
Ben White limped off in the first half and Arteta said the defender had suffered a hamstring injury and would undergo tests in the coming days. The Arsenal manager went on to emphasize how his team is stretched to the limit.
The Gunners are already without defenders Gabriel Magalhães and Cristian Mosquera, but William Saliba returned from injury and played 90 minutes.
“We had to put Willy at risk,” Arteta said. “It probably wasn’t the best decision to play 90 minutes because I had bought a ticket because of another injury. But there’s no one else. It’s certainly a risk.”
