LONDON, United Kingdom, Feb 19 – Never before in Premier League history has the team at the top of the table lost a two-goal lead to the team at the bottom of the table. But Arsenal’s extraordinary collapse against Wolves showed why there are so many still questioning their title credentials.
A hefty chunk of their own fans count themselves among the doubters and even Mikel Arteta, so often the passionate defender of his players, appeared bereft at what he had just witnessed. “We have to blame ourselves,” Arteta said after this dramatic 2-2 draw.
When Piero Hincapie put Arsenal two up, it should have been over. But Hugo Bueno’s goal altered the mood and they never did wrestle back the initiative. “I can’t believe how many times they gave the ball away cheaply,” said Paul Merson on Sky Sports.
Their game-management at Molineux was wretched. Wolves had more of the ball in the second half – completing 180 passes to Arsenal’s 163. And while Rob Edwards praised his team’s spirit, that statistic says more about Arsenal’s desperate decision-making.
For long periods in that second half, Arteta could be seen shaking his head or turning back to the bench with arms outstretched. He was urging his team to stay calm, telling them to recirculate possession. When they tried to pass it, Wolves were pulled around.
Sponsored Links
But Arsenal allowed the pattern of the game to change and that is damning. It was only in stoppage time that they really tried to shut things down – stalling for time and delaying the restarts. Even that could be interpreted as a weak attempt to hang on.
Why did Raya keep going long?
David Raya’s handling error for the equalising goal is what will be remembered of his performance, but throughout the entire second half he was pumping balls long without success. In the first half, he had kept possession, in the second half he surrendered it.
He was not alone. Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice are supposed to bring control but that was absent. Crossfield passes went astray. At one stage late on, Leandro Trossard attempted an ambitious angled cross-shot but merely presented the ball to Jose Sa.
“The performance in the second half did not show anything close to the standards [required] in this league to win,” said Arteta. “It was one moment after another. Even though we scored second the goal, we never got to grips and had control of the game.”
Arsenal’s pass completion rate during the second half dropped to 76 per cent. That was down from 87 per cent during the first 45 minutes. In that period, as Arsenal played the game in the Wolves half, it was difficult to see how this could become what it did.
How Gyokeres was dominated
“I just thought we were really good, really aggressive in this game in that second half,” Edwards explained in the press conference. “We won a lot of duels and that allowed us then to play 40 yards higher up the pitch rather than obviously them in our final third.”
Santi Bueno was particularly strong up against Viktor Gyokeres. “I thought he won some brilliant duels in the second half.” The Arsenal striker struggled to hold the ball up and was replaced by Gabriel Jesus, who made his only impact after the whistle.
Bueno, a centre-back, had more touches in the opposition penalty box than Arsenal’s two strikers. Perhaps it is no great surprise if the centre-forwards are coming up short, but what will really alarm Arteta is the dip from players that he has come to rely upon.
What can Arteta change now?
Raya and Gabriel have been giants for this side but it was their judgement that went awry in the big moment, even if it did stem from an attempt to take responsibility. Why was Zubimendi not providing that metronomic passing to snuff out this comeback?
“They know what is required but weren’t able to do it,” said Arteta. Does he need to look at himself? Did his second-half changes against Wolves add to Arsenal’s problems rather than help to solve them? Could Christian Norgaard be a controlling influence?
Asked about the pressure that is building on this Arsenal team, Bukayo Saka told Sky Sports: “I just think we need to just get back to our level, just do the basics right.” He is correct. But what if it is the pressure that is preventing Arsenal from doing those basics?
They could hardly miss the home fans chanting ‘second again’ in their direction, a reference to Arsenal’s reputation as nearly men. Two wins from seven at the wrong time. Manchester City, champions in six of the last eight seasons, know it is in their hands again.
Whether that flips the pressure remains to be seen. The worry for Arsenal and Arteta is that Pep Guardiola and his players, despite issues of their own, will handle that far better than the team that contrived to make history at Molineux on Wednesday evening.
