Arsenal surrendered a 2–0 lead at bottom club Wolves, conceding a stoppage time own goal from Riccardo Calafiori to drop two damaging points in the Premier League title race.
Arsenal let a routine away win turn into a damaging draw at Molineux, twice in front against the Premier League’s bottom side before conceding a 94th minute equaliser in a 2–2 draw that raises familiar questions about game management and composure. The result moves Arsenal to 57 points from 26 matches, four clear of Manchester City who now have a game in hand.
The evening had started as comfortably as Mikel Arteta could have hoped. With just five minutes played, Declan Rice was given time on the left to measure a cross and Bukayo Saka, completely unmarked six yards out, stooped to guide a header past José Sá. Wolves, already short on confidence, were opened up far too easily and Arsenal looked well placed to impose their usual control.
For most of the first half they did just that. Arsenal dictated possession and spent long spells in Wolves territory, working openings down both flanks without quite finding the final detail to extend the lead. Noni Madueke headed one presentable chance wide and Gabriel Martinelli saw a low cross flash through the six yard box with no touch, while at the other end David Raya was largely untroubled aside from a couple of efforts that drifted wide of his posts.
Arsenal appeared to have taken full control early in the second half. On 56 minutes, Gabriel stepped out from the back and slipped a clever pass down the inside left channel. Piero Hincapié timed his run to perfection, took a couple of strides into the box and lashed a rising shot beyond Sá. An offside flag paused celebrations but a VAR check confirmed the defender had started his run from the right side of the line and the goal stood.
Instead of killing the contest, the second goal sparked Wolves into life and seemed to drain assurance from Arsenal. Five minutes later the hosts were back in it. After a corner was only half cleared, the ball was worked out to Hugo Bueno on the right. The full back stepped inside onto his left foot and curled a superb strike across Raya and into the top left corner, a finish that transformed both the scoreline and the mood inside Molineux.
From that point on, Arsenal never fully regained control. Substitutions brought fresh legs but also disrupted rhythm, and the closing stages became increasingly scrappy. Arteta’s side tried to slow the game down, holding possession and taking their time over set pieces, yet Wolves continued to find moments of encouragement, pushing higher and forcing Arsenal deeper into their own half.
The punishment arrived deep into stoppage time. A cross from the left drew Raya off his line and also tempted Gabriel into attacking the same ball. Neither made a clean contact and the loose ball broke to substitute Tom Edozie, whose low shot struck the base of the post, bounced onto Calafiori on the line and spun over it for a dramatic own goal. Molineux erupted, while Arsenal were left to digest the consequences of letting a two goal advantage slip against a team that had started the night with one league win all season.
On the back of the 1–1 draw at Brentford, this was another occasion where Arsenal failed to turn a winning position into three points. With Manchester City still within striking distance and holding a game in hand, allowing a bottom club back from 2–0 down through lapses in concentration and control is precisely the type of setback that can linger in a title race that is already tight at the margins.