Mikel Arteta branded elements of Arsenal’s performance against Wolves “unacceptable” and criticized their “passive” and “horrible defensive habits” that allowed the visitors to equalize late on.
The Gunners eventually won 2–1 thanks to Wolves’ second own goal. The win extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points, but it was far from a straightforward finale against the club bottom of the division, with Wolves’ equalizer in the 90th minute proving almost costly.
Arteta described his side as “passive” moments before Tolu Arokodare headed Wolves level at 1-1 and said his focus was more important than celebrating the team’s “resilience” in fighting back through a Yerson Mosquera own goal in the 94th minute. The Gunners took advantage early in the second half when the ball found its way past goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
“We spent two or three minutes in deep blocks where we were completely passive with terrible defensive habits,” Arteta said in the final stages. “We are nowhere near the standard required against a team that didn’t attempt a single shot, and scored the first time they had the chance (Wolves’ goal was their third shot).
“It’s nice to get a goal at the end and get the win, but we definitely need to improve in that respect.
“I’m not saying, ‘Okay, it’s resilient.’ We should have stopped the source earlier. That’s on us.
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 goals made it even more difficult and that’s unacceptable.”
Arteta explained that he has no problem with his team going down. Instead, it was their behavior in the defensive environment that he did not like.
“We can play deep defense because we have a lot of players involved. There are moments when we can’t press, which is fine, but the activity level in that block has to be very different from what we did.”
Arsenal players achieved their last win against Wolves.
Arteta was not impressed with his team’s frustration with how they managed the final part of the game, as well as their failure to capitalize on promising positions during the first half, with the Gunners failing to get a single shot on target.
This is the first time in the Premier League this season that Gabriel Martinelli has missed a golden opportunity with a header.
“We had a big chance when Martinelli was completely free from two yards out but we couldn’t score,” Arteta said. TNT Sports.
“But we struggled when we got into the danger zone to pick out red shirts in the box, there were a lot of those situations and then we didn’t create many clear chances. In the second half we did a little better and scored a goal.”
As White limped off, Arsenal ‘bought a ticket for another injury’
ben white He limped off at half-time and Arteta said the defender had suffered a hamstring injury and would be assessed in the coming days. The Arsenal manager went on to point out how lacking his squad was.
The Gunners are already without a defender. Gabriel Magalhaes and Christian Mosquerabut William Saliba He returned from injury and played 90 minutes.
“We had to take a risk with Willy,” Arteta said. “Playing for 90 minutes might not have been the best option because we were buying a ticket for another injury, but we don’t have anyone else. It’s definitely a risk.”
