LONDON — Mikel Arteta has cautioned Arsenal that their «abysmal defensive tendencies» nearly led to a defeat against Wolves.
The Gunners now sit five points ahead at the top of the Premier League, but only after a tense and jittery display at Emirates Stadium against the league’s bottom team.
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Wolves keeper Sam Johnstone accidentally turned Bukayo Saka‘s corner in the 70th minute into his own goal, as Arsenal fell back to defend their lead, leading to a late equalizer from substitute Tolu Arokodare in the 90th minute.
Arsenal secured a vital victory when Yerson Mosquera inadvertently directed Saka’s cross into his own goal during the 94th minute, but Arteta emphasized the late loss of ground and possession that nearly jeopardized their title challenge.
«[The atmosphere in the locker room] is one of relief but with a strong recognition that the winning margin could have been larger,» Arteta informed journalists.
«After lacking precision in the first half with the opportunities we created in the opponent’s penalty area, we needed to show improvement in the second half.
«We managed to create more scoring opportunities, but following a stretch of two or three minutes, we became passive and exhibited terrible defensive behaviors that are far from the level needed against a team that hadn’t shot at all.
«The first time they got a chance, they scored, and that’s the Premier League. Thankfully, we are relieved because we did score the winning goal, but we absolutely need to make improvements in that regard.»
Ben White left the match in the 31st minute due to a hamstring issue, and Arteta hinted that the defender may be sidelined for a while.
White made his fourth consecutive appearance for the first time in over a year.
«He hasn’t had many minutes because of a prior knee problem, and just when he started getting into a rhythm, he had to play a lot due to the lack of alternatives,» Arteta explained.
«We even had to risk Willy [William Saliba] today, as it might not have been wise to have him play the full 90 minutes, since we were risking another injury, but we had no other options. That’s definitely unfortunate news for Ben.»
