
Sport

Share
19th February 2026
09:57am GMT
Football fans across the country were shocked on Wednesday evening as Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side failed to beat 20th placed Wolves in the Premier League.
Incredibly, the Gunners, who are clear favourites to win this season's title, surrendered a 2-0 advantage in the final 30 minutes of the clash, leading to widespread accusations of "bottling" from fans and pundits.
Even Arteta appeared far from pleased with his side's performance in the match, after full-time saying: "We’re very disappointed with the end result, but I think we have to fault ourselves.
“I think the performance in the second half doesn't show the level and the standards required in the Premier League to win in the manner that we should have won the game, especially in the way that we played in the first half."
"Any opinion, you have to take it on the chin," he added.
"Any bullet, take it, because we didn't perform at the level required.
"Anything anyone says can be right because we didn't do what we had to do. The way to do it is on the pitch on Sunday [against Spurs].
As well as offering Man City a golden opportunity to catch the Gunners when they play their game in hand, Arsenal have also set an unwanted record that had never before been recorded by a Premier League leader.
18+ Be Gamble Aware
According to Opta analyst Tom Ede, Arsenal's collapse against Wolves marks the first time in history that a Premier League leader has abandoned a lead of two or more goals to the side placed 20th.
To make matters even worse, Arsenal's total at the top of the Premier League table is the smallest achieved by a title-chaser since Leicester City, a decade ago.
While the numbers certainly appear discouraging for Arsenal fans, the Gunners have until the end of this season to turn those fortunes around.
Arsenal play second-placed Man City at the Etihad in April, a clash that now seems set to decide this season's champions.
Explore more on these topics: