Paul Merson slams Arsenal as ‘slow and lazy’ after Wolves draw, expects talk of ‘bottle job’ to increase | Soccer News

Paul Merson said Arsenal were punished for playing in “second gear” and said he felt they would face accusations of a “bottle job” against Wolves after throwing away a two-goal lead to draw.

Arsenal looked set to take a seven-point lead after Bukayo Saka’s opener and another from Piero Hincapie, but Hugo Bueno pulled the ball back in great style before debutant Tom Edsey equalized in the 94th minute following a mix-up between Gabriel and David Raya.

The result follows last week’s 1-1 draw with Brentford and means second-placed Manchester City can close the gap to two points with a win. Josep Guardiola’s side will also welcome Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium on April 18th.

As with Brentford, Arsenal lost their composure in the closing stages against Molineux and Melson expects his former team to face accusations of collapse in another title race, with Manchester City’s fortunes set in stone.

Manager Melson said on Sky Sports, “If Man City can win all their games from now on, they will win the league.”

“It’s disappointing. You can’t play in second gear. There was a sense of urgency when Wolves went down 2-2. We never had that before. We can’t play like that. Every game is a cup final until the end.”

“We have to play at a high tempo. If Arsenal play at a high tempo, Wolves can’t stay with them. But when you play like them, it’s slow and lazy and once they give you the ball, Wolves will always be in the game.”

“That could come back to bite them again, which is really, really disappointing tonight.

“We’re going full steam ahead now, with bottle jobs and melting. We drew with Brentford and got a two-goal lead against the worst team in the league, so we’re going full steam ahead now.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his team “deserved to take a hit”, saying their performance in the second half had not been up to “all aspects of the game”.

“It’s difficult to accept that in the second half we didn’t perform to the standard required to win games in the Premier League and in all aspects of the game, but we paid the price,” he told Sky Sports.

“Too many things went wrong one after the other. It’s best not to criticize it. We’re all too emotional about it and now is not the time to do it.

“When you’re not performing, you’re at this level and the expectations are high. You have to take that hit because we deserve it too.”

Melson ‘shocked’ by Arteta interview

Melson was surprised by Arteta’s negative tone in the interview, saying: “I was quite shocked by Arteta’s interview. It’s really the first time I’ve seen him not so positive. He usually comes out and says: ‘We did this, we did that’.”

“Instead of saying, ‘We’re five points behind. As long as we don’t lose to Manchester City, we’ll win the league,’ he’s saying, ‘We deserved to be beaten.’

“That wasn’t the case. He was a little worried in that interview. He’s thinking about it now, too. There’s only so much he can do for the team, and looking at it, I think there’s something missing. I can’t pinpoint it, but there’s something missing.”

“If they don’t win the league this year, I don’t want to be in their shoes, because if they don’t win the league, I remember Patrick Vieira saying before the Manchester United game, it’s now or never.

“I’m starting to think so. I was very bullish about Arsenal winning the league, but tonight I was half scared.”

Smith: ‘Arsenal can’t handle pressure’

Manager Alan Smith said Arsenal’s collapse showed they were struggling to cope with the pressure of competing for the title, and that he felt Manchester City were confident of overhauling their squad in a bid to win the title.

A Sky Sports pundit said: “This feels like a pivotal moment, a pivotal moment, perhaps a turning point.”

“We’ll see. Obviously, it’s in Manchester City’s hands now, but it’s not enough because they have nine points and are two goals down against the bottom team.”

“And when you look at how things played out towards the end… David Raya coming on in a panic when he didn’t have to come on, that doesn’t bode well for Arsenal to be able to withstand the pressure.

“There’s obviously a lot of tension in the camp and the whole situation seems to be getting the better of them. That was the case tonight and it will continue to be, but it doesn’t bode well.

“We have said many times that they are the best team in the league, the best team, but that means nothing if they don’t have the composure and ability to play under pressure and get results. I think that word will be used quite a bit in the coming days.”

“Man City will think they can feel us breathing on their shoulders and from their own experience and from Guardiola’s experience, they really want that now.

“Obviously it’s a big game for them against Newcastle at the weekend, but you can feel the nerves in the Arsenal team watching it tonight.”

Spurs next after Arsenal – Man City could also add to the pressure

Arsenal travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday for the first of two London derbies, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, and Merson feels the momentum could have been “completely” reversed by then had Manchester City beaten Newcastle on Saturday.

“I do my own thing, that’s the good thing about it,” Melson said of the challenge awaiting Arsenal in the north London derby.

“But the problem is that if Manchester City beat Newcastle first they would have two points from the same game and Arsenal have two derbies in London against their two biggest rivals, Tottenham and Chelsea.

“The momentum has completely gone the other way. The North London derby has gone out the window. That’s the game. It doesn’t matter if we’re in the top 15 or not, it’s a tie.”

“We’ve got a new manager. He’s going to get them through a brick wall. Arsenal aren’t playing well enough to blow Tottenham away.”