TROSS IN US, ART!
IT IS acknowledged that Arsenal will have to do it the hard way if they are to break a run of 20 years without a Premier League title.
In contrast to title rivals Manchester City and
Liverpool, pundits reckon they have the toughest games on the run-in.
And if this juddering collision with Wolves is a measure of what’s to come, Mikel Arteta’s
Gunners really will be worthy champions if they manage to finish on top.
Bottlers? Forget it.
This clash quickly turned into a potential banana skin for an Arsenal side who needed to shake themselves down after a hellish week at home and abroad.
Fortunately, Arteta has an abundance of quality to call on and, on a nervy night for away fans, Leandro Trossard showed what a steal he was at £21million last year.
Trossard couldn’t crown his move with the title last year, but his sweet goal on the stroke of half-time settled nervy Arsenal fans who are maybe fearing the worst again.
His hug from Arteta when his night ended on 71 minutes was richly deserved.
At this stage of the campaign, it’s a favourite time to play games on paper, with fans and pundits looking to predict where points will be won and lost. On the face of it, with Gary O’neil navigating a hefty Wolves casualty list, which ripped the guts from his team, this appeared to be the kind of contest Arteta might have opted for after a difficult week.
But this is the Premier League. A division where reason and logic don’t mean much, especially in April when the heat is on.
Arteta (above) is regarded as the epitome of the modern manager. A talented coach with a fierce will to win and an army of admirers in the game’s biggest leagues. O’neil doesn’t have the same profile, but he is attracting his own fan club with his work at Wolves.
His task wasn’t made any easier with Matheus Cunha missing from his squad. The classy Brazil attacker succumbed to injury again after only just returning from a hamstring issue.
Against a pumped-up Arsenal desperate to avenge a bad week after their Champions League exit and a crisis-triggering defeat down the M6 at Aston Villa, O’neil needed every bit of quality in his squad.
Cunha is the brightest of all and it’s little wonder the 24-year-old, signed for £44m last summer, is already on the radar of predatory admirers.
With Pedro Neto also out, it blunted the threat of a Wolves side who have made Molineux a daunting away-day for the top five this season.
Of that illustrious group only Liverpool had won at Wolves and they needed two goals to come from behind and snatch victory. Manchester City and Spurs both lost, while Villa fared only slightly better, taking home a point.
But what Wolves lacked in innovation and imagination, they more than made up for with belligerent defending.
That didn’t always suit Arteta and his bench, but the Premier League has to be won, it’s never gifted – and Wolves made sure they kept the race for glory honest.
O’neil hinted the majority of his match-day squad probably only had the legs to compete for 45 minutes.
But they surprised him and went much deeper into the game despite Arsenal having the control.
Wolves were a fair match for the Gunners in the first half and had a great chance to take the lead when Joao Gomes outfoxed Jakub Kiwior, but saw keeper David Raya tip his shot onto the bar.
Until Trossard struck, Arsenal had hardly caused Jose Sa a serious problem, with a shot whizzed wide by Declan Rice the only real threat.
Arteta was praying for a second, but had to wait until five minutes into injury time for Martin Odegaard to steer home from a tight angle.
It meant Arsenal nerves were frayed. And, with five games left, that anxiety promises to stick around.