Arsenal salvage draw but is the revival running out of steam?
IF finding a way to avoid defeat is habitual, then Arsenal are hooked. But they were ever so fortunate. Wolves were wonderful, Arsenal less so.
Somehow, it’s 16 games unbeaten for Unai Emery’s side after Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s fortuitous late goal earned an undeserved point. That goalkeeper Bernd Leno was Arsenal’s best player is illustrative of how this pulsating encounter played out.
Nuno Espirito Santo should take solace. Despite three straight losses heading to the Emirates, his fearless team conjured a display full of confidence and invention.
‘We could have won but that’s football — we will look and analyse what was missing and why we didn’t,’ said the Wolves boss.
‘But to come to such a difficult stadium and be able to play the way we did, we are happy.’
Despite not losing since August, it’s now four draws from the last five games for Arsenal.
Emery said: ‘I am happy with every player because they worked with a good attitude.
‘We need to continue and to work better. We want to continue our way and carry on.’
It’s far from an unravelling, but after their 11-match winning run, Emery has much to ponder going into the international break. Nothing is more pressing than the form of Mesut Ozil, who was hooked again yesterday.
And Emery must also solve the slow starts that have inhibited his team. Once more they were slow out of the blocks as Wolves took a 13th-minute lead. What Granit Xhaka was thinking in the lead-up to the goal is anyone’s guess.
Xhaka let Sead Kolasinac’s pass roll past him without a team-mate in sight. Ivan Cavaleiro picked up the loose ball before laying it off to Raul Jimenez, who returned the favour to allow his Portuguese team-mate to tap home.
If Cavaleiro was emerging as the hero in attack, Conor Coady was pushing his team-mate close in defence. On this form it’s a matter of time before Coady, 25, is called up by Gareth Southgate. His brave block to deny Alexandre Lacazette from scoring a certain goal in the 23rd minute was inspired.
Helder Costa led Wolves’s charge, burning past Arsenal’s depleted defence before his effort was brilliantly saved by Leno, who bravely gobbled up the loose ball, taking a boot to the chest from Jimenez for his troubles.
Costa saw another effort saved by Leno four minutes later before Jimenez fired over.
Half-time couldn’t come soon enough for Arsenal. Emery’s solution was to bring on Matteo Guendouzi for Iwobi, which was tough on the Nigerian. But Guendouzi gave Arsenal an extra man in the middle, which was controlled by Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who started on the left, joined Lacazette up front, while Ozil, anonymous in the first-half, took his place behind the strikers.
Their fluency continued to escape them, though Lucas Torreira saw a venomous long-ranger tipped over by Rui Patricio.
Aubameyang should have levelled in the 73rd minute, somehow hitting the post from point-blank range after excellent build-up play from Torreira and Hector Bellerin. Emery was in disbelief.
The Arsenal manager’s response was to replace Ozil with Aaron Ramsey, and the poor Kolasinac came off for Mkhitaryan.
Still Wolves threatened. Diogo Jota was denied inside the final six minutes after a rapid counter.
The stop proved pivotal as Arsenal levelled moments later, Mkhitaryan’s floated cross missing everyone, including Patricio, to send the Emirates into a frenzy.
Arsenal were furious that fourth official Roger East signalled for five minutes of stoppage time.
At full-time they were thanking their lucky stars it wasn’t longer as Leno saved his team, stopping Adama Traore in a one- on- one before Morgan Gibbs-White hit the underside of the bar.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Leno 8; Bellerin 7, Mustafi 6.5, Holding 6.5, Kolasinac 4 (Mkhitaryan 76min); Torreira 6, Xhaka 5; Iwobi 5 (Guendouzi 46, 6.5), Ozil 5 (Ramsey 75), Aubameyang 6; Lacazette 6. Subs not used: Cech, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles, Nketiah. Scorer: Mkhitaryan 86. Booked: Ozil, Bellerin. Manager: Unai Emery: 6 WOLVES (3-4-3) Patricio 6; Bennett 7.5, COADY 8.5, Boly 7.5; Doherty 6.5, Neves 7.5, Moutinho 7, Castro 7; Costa 7.5 (Traore 75), Jimenez 7.5 (Gibbs-White 85), Cavaleiro 7.5 (Jota 61). Subs not used: Ruddy, Saiss, Vinagre, Dendoncker. Scorer: Cavaleiro 13. Booked: Doherty, Costa. Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo 7.5. Referee: Stuart Attwell 6.5. Attendance: 60,030.
ARSENAL forward Danny Welbeck has had surgery on the ankle he broke against Sporting Lisbon. Unai Emery said: ‘The ankle is broken, we will be without him for a long time.’