Wenger hails his skipper’s late winner

power surge could, and should, have blown away the nervy Gunners.

Aaron Ramsey had begun the comeback, but Preston – watched by former cricket icon Freddie Flintoff – should have hit their illustrious visitors for six.

Preston’s sensational start ensured that the tremors from an uncomfortable night on the Dorset coast for the Gunners continued at a rainy Deepdale.

It left Wenger flapping his arms furiously in the technical area, appealing for calm – something which fell on deaf ears.

With Everton loanee Aiden McGeady the launching pad for a wave of swift attacks, Preston’s striking pair Jordan Hugill and Callum Robinson caused absolute mayhem.

If Bournemouth’s start, in which Eddie Howe’s side sprinted into a three-goal lead was an embarrassment, the early Preston power play was close to humiliation for the so- called aristocrats from North London.

The Gunners were thankful that they reached half-time just a goal down, as fearless Preston carved out chance after chance.

The fact that the Championship side were restricted to Robinson’s seventhminute strike owed to profligate finishing and some bad luck.

Robinson, who came through the Aston Villa academy, fired past David Ospina from close range after McGeady’s clever ball came off Hugill and the former England Under-20 international gobbled up the opportunity to leave this old ground shaking.

As if Wenger really needed any more shocks, following that midweek 3-3 draw by the seaside.

It could have been worse, as Robinson seemed set to notch a second, following a lacerating cross