Arsenal missed out on what could have been a valuable win after blowing a two-goal lead against bottom-of-the-table Wolves on Wednesday night.
The North London side got off to a perfect start as Bukayo Saka took the lead after a deft ball from Declan Rice. Piero Hincapie doubled the Gunners’ lead midway through the second period.
Arsenal suffered an unpleasant surprise with 30 minutes remaining after Hugo Bueno had reduced the gap with a superb curling effort. Wolves took advantage of that nerve and a shocking mix-up between Gabriel and Raya saw debutant Tom Edsey’s shot go through Ricardo Calafioli and into the net.
Arsenal are now five points behind Manchester City, with Wolves finally giving their fans something to cheer about with an emotional comeback. Molyneux’s main points are:
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Saka is happy with his new role
If Bukayo Saka had the opportunity to choose an opponent to break his 15-game clean sheet record, it would almost certainly be Wolves. The England winger has found the net four times against the Black Country in his career and added to that on Wednesday.
He caught a perfect ball just an inch from Declan Rice and headed home past Jose Sa. He celebrated by miming signing a piece of paper regarding his new contract.
He was also placed in the center of the park in the FA Cup win over Wigan, highlighting his effectiveness in a more central role. Saka limped off in the closing stages, a worrying sight ahead of this weekend’s North London derby.
Bukayo Saka celebrates his goal against Wolves (Image: Getty Images)
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defender helps attack
Arsenal’s main strength this season has been their defence, and it looked like two defenders were working together to score the second goal.
A great through ball from Gabriel allowed Piero Hincapie to slip behind the Wolves defense and the on-loan Bayer Leverkusen man calmly finished. His celebration was brutally cut short by the linesman’s flag.
However, VAR intervened and the defender was clearly onside, so the whole team toasted to his first goal for the club.
bueno belter
Hincapie celebrated his first Premier League goal and Wolves defender Hugo Bueno followed suit with an eye-catching goal.
The Spaniard was given acres of space on the right, cut inside with his left foot and fired a stunning shot past the desperate grasp of David Raya.
It’s been a season without many highlights for the Wolves, but Buneo’s goal was definitely one of them.
Hugo Bueno handed Wolves a lifeline with a great effort (Image: Getty Images)
Gunners feeling the pressure
The same thing could happen at Arsenal. The difference between them and Manchester City remains five points, but they really needed a win against Wolves.
It was probably the easiest game of the rest of the season. And it all seemed to be going according to plan.
But they have completely lost their composure and now look very, very vulnerable. City certainly have the ability to reverse the deficit that lies ahead. In the meantime, Arsenal need to rediscover their form and will need to do so in the near future, especially with the North London derby just around the corner.
Tom Edsey celebrates against Arsenal (Image: Getty Images)
wolf fights back
There’s no denying that, but Wolves have shown improvement in recent weeks, even if the points don’t exactly show it. Like Emirates, they played tenaciously and managed to grab a point in the closing stages.
Raya and Gabriel were unable to get in each other’s way, and the blame certainly lies with the Arsenal defense. Edgier then picked up the loose ball and tapped it into the goal from Calafioli.
There is no doubt that Wolves will be in the Championship again next season, but a few more results like this could easily see them slip away from their current 10-point total and prevent them from being crowned the worst team in Premier League history.
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