Arsenal’s turbulent week ended with them surrendering another lead as Wolves fought back to claim a merited Premier League point at the Emirates. Wolves, who are now unbeaten in their past eight matches in the capital, dominated for long periods but fell behind as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was left unmarked from Alexandre Lacazette’s pass to steer home his 50th goal for Arsenal. However, that was a rare blip for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side who repeatedly carved the hosts open. And they got their reward when Raul Jimenez headed Joao Moutinho’s hooked cross past Bernd Leno into the bottom right corner.
It ensured Wolves, who are up to 11th, stretched their unbeaten run to six games, while Arsenal remain in fifth. Arsenal have already surrendered leads against Watford and Crystal Palace this season, and this result did little to allay concerns over the team’s perceived fragility in defence. Former boss Arsene Wenger came in for criticism over this towards the end of his 22-year tenure at the club and there is a feeling that Emery has been unable to address those failings as he nears 18 months in charge. While they were in total control against Watford and Palace before capitulating, that was not the case against Wolves who took the game to the hosts from the off.
The visitors had already fashioned at least half a dozen good opportunities before Arsenal opened the scoring against the run of play. Aubameyang’s expert finish brought up his ninth goal in 13 games but he was largely forced to feed off scraps with Arsenal managing just 10 shots compared to the visitors’ 25. There was little of the fan unrest that led to Granit Xhaka being omitted from the starting line-up but equally there was a sense of inevitability about Jimenez’s equaliser. However, only Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola currently enjoys a higher win ratio in the Premier League than Emery.
