Arsenal beat Wolverhampton 2–1 at the Emirates Stadium, opened a five point gap at the top of the Premier League and stayed there for another round, but the game was anything but simple. Against the bottom team, still winless in the competition, Mikel Arteta’s side struggled, failed to put a single shot on target in the first half and needed two own goals from the opposition, one of them deep into stoppage time, to turn tension into relief. It was a valuable win, less for the performance and more for the context, the kind that keeps a leader standing when the ball just refuses to cooperate.
A flat and uncomfortable opening act
Anyone expecting Arsenal to dominate from the opening whistle found a very different scenario. The first half was slow, scrappy and short on clear chances. Despite enjoying more possession and spending most of the time in the attacking half, the league leaders couldn’t turn control into real danger. The most uncomfortable stat came at the break, zero shots on target in 45 minutes.
Wolverhampton, even buried at the bottom of the table, stayed compact at the back and looked to break forward when possible. On one of those moments, Hwang Hee-chan burst into space and forced David Raya into action. In the same play, Ben White picked up an injury while tracking back and had to be replaced, a setback that only added to the uneasy feel inside the stadium.
Arsenal did create moments from set pieces and down the right flank, mainly through Bukayo Saka, but accuracy was missing. Martinelli had chances, Timber was a threat in the air, yet the scoreboard remained untouched. Wolves nearly struck late in the half, only failing to score because a shot inside the box was blocked at the last second. The scoreless draw at halftime felt like a fair reflection of what had happened so far.
Pressure, chaos and relief at the end
The tone shifted after the break. Arsenal picked up the pace, increased the attacking volume and began to pin Wolverhampton closer to their own box. The substitutions added a different rhythm, and goalkeeper Johnstone was called into action more often, especially on shots from distance.
The breakthrough came in unusual fashion in the 70th minute. From a corner taken by Saka, the ball curled in, hit the post and deflected off Johnstone before crossing the line. An own goal, but one born out of sustained pressure. Arsenal pushed for a second, missed their chances and paid the price.
Late on, Arokodare headed in the equalizer from a cross, briefly silencing the Emirates. When the draw seemed inevitable, another Saka corner caused chaos, and Mosquera turned the ball into his own net in the 94th minute. A hard fought, dramatic and decisive win.
Arsenal moved to 36 points and kept their grip on first place. Wolverhampton remained winless, stuck at the bottom. It wasn’t a polished performance, and luck played its part, but sometimes going far in the Premier League also means surviving games like this.