Arsenal squander two-goal lead as Wolves score late to earn draw
After surrendering a two-goal advantage to draw against Premier League bottom club Wolves, Arsenal face intensified scrutiny over their mental readiness to end a 22-year wait for the title.
For the first time this season, the title race is not fully under Mikel Arteta's control. Manchester City, five points behind in second place, can claim first place if they win all their remaining 12 matches, including a home game against Arsenal. Similarly, Arsenal have 11 matches left and can secure the title by winning the April encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
However, Arsenal's recent consecutive draws against Brentford and Wolves have resulted in the loss of four crucial points, raising concerns about repeating past disappointments. The club has finished as runners-up three times in recent years, twice behind Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, a reminder of previous failures.
Former Arsenal forward Alan Smith acknowledged the pressure, stating
"that word bottle will be used quite a bit in the next few days".
The scenario appeared promising when Piero Hincapie scored his first goal for Arsenal in the 56th minute, following Bukayo Saka's early opener in the fifth minute. Nevertheless, Arsenal failed to maintain control and decisiveness to close out a Wolves side that had lost their previous nine meetings and are on course for relegation.
Wolves demonstrated resilience, with Hugo Bueno scoring a 20-yard curling goal to revive their hopes. In the fourth minute of added time, 19-year-old Tom Edozie, making his senior debut off the bench, capitalized on a miscommunication between Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya and defender Gabriel. Edozie’s shot deflected off Riccardo Calafiori to secure a dramatic equalizer.
Arsenal now face London derbies against Tottenham and Chelsea, having shown signs of faltering at a critical stage of the season.
Arteta acknowledged the forthcoming criticism, stating
"Any opinion you have to take it on the chin. Any bullet, take it, because we didn't perform at the level required. Anything anyone says can be right because we didn't do what we had to do. The way to do it is on the pitch on Sunday [against Spurs]."
Wolves manager Rob Edwards remarked that his team was aware of the significant pressure on Arsenal and took advantage of it.
Since the start of 2026, Arsenal have not been at their best, winning only two of their last seven league matches, against Leeds and Sunderland.
Arteta added,
"Certain basics we have to do, we did them so poorly, one after the other. It is better not to judge it. We are all too emotional about it. You have to take the hit because we deserve it. It is very easy with emotion to say things that can damage the team. Everyone wants to do their best."
Only Crystal Palace and West Ham have dropped more points from winning positions in 2026 than Arsenal, who have now failed to win from a leading position in three of their last five league games.
This match marked the first time in Premier League history that a team starting the day bottom of the table avoided defeat against the leaders despite trailing by two or more goals.
Smith commented on Sky Sports,
"It feels like a pivotal moment, a vital one, maybe a turning point. It's in Manchester City's hands now. With their experience and Guardiola's experience they will really fancy it now. They can almost feel the nerves of the Arsenal team watching that. Having been 2-0 up against the team rock bottom on nine points is just not good enough for the team hoping to win the title. It doesn't bode well for Arsenal to be able to handle the pressure."
Pressure mounts as Arsenal blow two-goal lead to draw at Wolves
'We dropped our standards big time'
Bukayo Saka scored his first goal in all competitions since December.
The draw also meant Arsenal failed to win an away league game after leading by two goals for the first time since April 2023 at West Ham, a sequence spanning 18 matches.
Saka, who ended a 15-match goal drought in all competitions, noted a significant difference in Arsenal’s second-half performance compared to the first.
"Disappointed, not much else to say,"said the England international.
"We dropped our standards big time and we got punished for it."
Just a day after signing a new five-year contract, Saka opened the scoring playing in the No10 role again but had to leave the match in the 73rd minute after treatment.
"It's very flat,"Saka added.
"It's time for us to reflect on the last few performances and fix the issues immediately, so we can get back to winning games, go on a run and build momentum because we've lost that a bit right now. I just think we have to get back to our level. Do the basics right and we've got more than enough quality in this team to win games, especially in the games where we've been dropping points in recently. We need to fix that and that's all our focus is right now."
'We need to go through the pain and look in the mirror'
With a north London derby against Tottenham upcoming on Sunday, Arsenal must respond promptly. Tottenham, under new manager Igor Tudor, may seek a 'new manager bounce' to capitalize on Arsenal’s difficulties.
Arteta stated,
"We need to go through the pain, looking in the mirror and understand what the game requires now on Sunday. Anything we say from here is fine but we need to keep it all in our tummies and show it on Sunday."
