The Digest:
Mikel Arteta has issued a stark warning after Arsenal’s last-gasp 2-1 win against Wolves. According to the manager, "horrible defensive habits" and a passive late spell nearly derailed their title charge, overshadowing the relief of moving five points clear at the top.
Key Points:
- Mikel Arteta criticized Arsenal’s "horrible defensive habits" after a narrow 2-1 win over bottom-side Wolves
- Arsenal’s winning goal came from a 94th-minute own goal by Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera
- Arteta highlighted a "totally passive" two-to-three-minute period that allowed Wolves’ 90th-minute equalizer
- He stressed that such defensive lapses are "nowhere near the level required" for a title challenge
- The win moved Arsenal five points clear at the top of the Premier League
- Defender Ben White limped off with a hamstring injury, set for a spell on the sidelines
- Arteta admitted the team had to risk playing William Saliba, who was not fully fit, due to a lack of defensive options
Even at the summit, a manager’s eye is fixed not on the points gap, but on the cracks it conceals. Arteta’s warning transforms a last-minute victory from a cause for celebration into a sobering lesson, a reminder that in the long storm of a title race, flawed habits can be more dangerous than any opponent.
Sources: Complete Sports, Sky Sports
