Arsenal players ‘will have to take any bullets’ from critics after Wolves overturn a two-goal deficit in the Premier League title race – Mikel Arteta

19-year-old Tom Edsey’s equalizer in the dying minutes of stoppage time ended that plan and rescued Wolves from a 2-2 draw at the bottom of the table.

A breakdown in communication between Gabriel Magalhães and David Raya resulted in a disastrous collision between defender and goalkeeper, and as debutant Edgier took a shot towards the exposed goal, the ball bounced off Ricardo Calafiori’s knee, off the post and into the goal.

It was supposed to be a routine win against the league’s struggling opponents, but the lackluster result means the title race is now much more likely and the pressure on Arsenal is once again mounting.

“Take any blow, any bullet, because I didn’t perform at the level that was required of me.

“Whatever somebody says might be right, because we didn’t do what we were supposed to do. The way to do that is on that pitch on Sunday, on that great opportunity we had.”

“We’ve always done that, but we’re just as strong if we show it the next time we do it. It’s easy to talk and say here, but we have to execute it on the pitch.”

Arsenal took a two-goal lead with goals from Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapie. Hugo Bueno gave Wolves a lifeline with a stunning curling shot from the edge of the box, and Edzier made his dream debut in the final attack.

City are still five points behind Arsenal, but they have a clear advantage and a win against Newcastle United on Saturday will reduce their lead.

Arteta was clearly dissatisfied with his team’s performance, saying that their second-half performance did not indicate their chances of winning the title.

“Obviously very disappointed with the result and the way the game ended, but we have to blame ourselves,” he said.

“I don’t think our performance in the second half, especially in the way we played in the first half, showed anything close to the standard that is required to win in this league. I think there was a margin that should have existed today, especially in the way we played in the first half. It’s a disappointing moment.”

“We all want to talk a lot about how we feel, but now is not the time to do that, because everything we do should always be done with the sole intention of helping the team. I think right now we have to swallow that frustration.”

“When you’re at this level and you’re at the top, you have to take a hit and we deserved it today, so we’ll move on as soon as possible because we have a big game coming up on Sunday.”

Gabriel looked disappointed after Arsenal lost a 2-0 lead to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. (Photo by Karl Lesseen/Getty Images)

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All eyes are now on Sunday’s North London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Arteta urging anxious supporters to get behind their side as they look to get back on track against Spurs.

“The more they get to know the players (the better). And I’m going to get very close to the players first because this has nothing to do with attitude or desire. It’s quite the opposite. It’s part of football,” he said.

“Whatever went wrong today, it didn’t go right, because if you look at the way we conceded two goals in other situations without conceding anything, that’s very rare.

“But it happened, and it happened for a reason, so we need to react to it.”

Arsenal face an unknown number of unknowns this weekend against rivals Spurs, who will be playing their first game under new head coach Igor Tudor.

The Croatian replaced Thomas Frank, who was sacked as Spurs went eight games without a win and are just five points clear of the relegation zone.

Highlights: A frenetic finale as Brentford frustrate Arsenal

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Tudor and Spurs will be hoping to use the heated derby as a turnaround, while Arteta will be targeting Arsenal’s lead as a chance to consolidate their lead and get back to winning ways.

“We need to improve, bounce back and get our energy back,” he added. “We’ll have a great game on Sunday to show that.

“I think we owe ourselves this game after what we did in the second half today. I think we need a little bit of time to digest. I think we need a few hours. This should be a really, really tough game, but we want to use it to improve in the right way.”