Arsenal fans and players alike breathed a huge sigh of relief after the Gunners scraped a 2-1 win over rock bottom Wolves on Saturday.
The North London side, fresh off a Premier League defeat against Aston Villa, were far from their best when they faced the league’s worst side at home. After relentless pressure, Mikel Arteta’s men broke the deadlock in the 70th minute, courtesy of a blunder by Wolves’ keeper Sam Johnstone from a Bukayo Saka corner.
Tolu Arokodare, Wolves’ frontman, sent shockwaves through the Emirates with a last-minute header that seemed to dent Arsenal’s title hopes, only for Wolves to gift another own goal in the dying moments. Now, Arsenal can enjoy a brief breather after bagging all three points, with their next match slated for Saturday against Everton. Here’s all the latest news from the Emirates.
Martin Keown has weighed in on Arteta’s striker conundrum, pointing out that Viktor Gyokeres is still not up to scratch fitness-wise.
Gyokeres was back in the starting XI against Wolves after a string of substitute appearances in the Premier League, following an injury he sustained against Burnley last month.
The 27-year-old striker, who arrived in the summer for £64million, featured for 81 minutes but failed to make his mark and once again drew a blank in front of goal.
His substitute Gabriel Jesus’ movement contributed to Yerson Mosquera’s own goal, with Arsenal legend Keown suggesting the Brazilian could challenge Gyokeres’ starting berth, reports the Mirror.
Keown told TNT Sports: “I think it’s Jesus’ movement that ultimately helps [create the goal]. The defender gets unlucky and Jesus doesn’t get the touch, but it’s his run and movement which helps and that is definitely food for thought for the manager.
“He looked good when he came on and Gyokeres is still not at the fitness level you would expect. There’s a real tussle for who is going to be that No.9 and Jesus has put himself right back in there.”
Arteta displayed clear irritation with his squad during his post-match press conference, particularly regarding how they retreated and allowed Wolves back into the contest after establishing their advantage.
This defensive lapse nearly cost them dearly in their title pursuit, only salvaging victory through a last-gasp winner.
The Spanish boss remarked: “We scored the goal but then we had periods of three minutes in deep. So, passive, really poor defensive habits.
“It’s not acceptable for our level because we haven’t conceded a single shot till that point. The first time they do it, they score a goal.
“And that’s the Premier League, I’m going to be very much aware of that and improve that. Because at the end, you rely on individual action and very chaotic action to score the goal and win the game. The margins should have been bigger.”
Following an outstanding run of solid defensive displays, Arsenal have now shipped late goals in their previous two Premier League matches, with injuries to key defenders such as Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba contributing significantly to these lapses.
