Arsenal: Mikel Arteta hits out at ‘passive’ and ‘unacceptable’ defending as Gunners survive scare to beat Wolves | Football News
Mikel Arteta described elements of Arsenal’s performance against Wolves as “unacceptable”, blasting their “passives” and “horrible defensive habits” as they allowed their visitors to equalize late.
The Gunners finally won 2-1 thanks to a second Wolves own goal of the evening. The win took their advantage at the top of the Premier League to five points, but it was far from a straightforward final against the bottom club in the division, with Wolves’ 90th-minute equalizer proving almost costly.
Arteta described his side as “passive” in the moments before Tolu Arokodare leveled Wolves at 1-1 and said that was more his aim than celebrating his side’s “resilience” to hit back through a Yerson Mosquera own goal in the 94th minute. The Gunners had benefited from goalkeeper Sam Johnstone’s ball coming home earlier in the second half.
“We had a period of two or three minutes deep (in blocks), totally passive with horrible defensive habits,” Arteta said of the closing stages. “That’s not at all the level required against a team that didn’t have a single shot. The first time they had the chance to do it, they scored a goal. (The Wolves’ goal was their third shot.)
“We are relieved because we managed to score a goal at the end and win it, but we definitely need to improve in that sense.
“I don’t attribute it to ‘yes, resilience (is good).’ We should have stopped the source before. It’s our responsibility.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice react after Arsenal conceded a late equalizer to Wolves. They would win 2-1.
“Credit to Wolves. I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game, but we made it even more difficult with the way we conceded the goal. And that’s unacceptable.”
Arteta explained that he has no problem with his team going deep. Instead, it was their actions within this defensive setup that he didn’t like.
“We can defend deep because they commit a lot of players. There are times when you can’t press them. That’s good. But the level of activity in this block must be very different from what we had.”
Arsenal players celebrate their latest victory against Wolves
As well as frustration with how his side handled the latter part of the match, Arteta was also unimpressed with their failure to capitalize on promising positions during a first half in which the Gunners failed to fire a single shot on target.
It’s the first time in the Premier League this season they’ve done this – Gabriel Martinelli missing a golden chance from close range with a header.
“We had a big chance with Martinelli two meters away, completely free, and we didn’t score,” Arteta told TNT Sports.
“But we struggled once we got to the dangerous areas to spot the red shirts in the box. We had a lot of situations like that. And then we didn’t have a lot of clear-cut chances. In the second half we did a little better and then scored the goal.”
Arsenal ‘buying tickets for another injury’ as White limps out
Ben White limped off during the first half, with Arteta claiming the defender had suffered a hamstring injury which will be assessed in the coming days. The Arsenal boss then highlighted how exhausted his team was.
The Gunners are already without defenders Gabriel Magalhaes And Christian Mosqueraalthough William Saliba played 90 minutes after returning from injury.
“We had to risk Willy,” Arteta said. “It probably wasn’t the best decision to play 90 minutes because we were buying tickets for another injury. But we don’t have anyone else. It’s dangerous, of course.”