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Arsenal take step to banish 'chokers' tag as Mikel Arteta's men go top with Wolves win
Mikel Arteta's Gunners returned to the top of the Premier League table with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Wolves thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard
And then there were five. Five more games for Arsenal to win.
Five more dates with destiny in a gripping title race. Five more occasions to prove they are no chokers. Yep, the Gunners returned to victorious ways at Wolves, reclaimed top spot and recharged their title dreams.
Leandro Trossard’s spectacular effort on the stroke of half-time also ended a 225-minute goal drought for the visitors – and in the process fired Mikel Arteta’s men a point clear of Manchester City. Martin Odegaard added the game-clinching second in added time.
The lead could be up to four points by Tuesday, if they beat Chelsea on their own patch, because City do not play again until a testing trip to Brighton on Thursday.
With the very real threat their season could be dead by the end of the evening, this was all about Arsenal preventing such a disaster – and securing a first win in four. The Gunners have been on streaks all this season – either lengthy, virtually faultless ones or brief blips of two or three setbacks.
That is why they wanted to bury any April hoodoo immediately and ensure a return to the summit they had suddenly abandoned six days earlier. That was their only possible plan of attack in the Midlands – so often a graveyard region when it came to previous botched Arsenal challenges under Arsene Wenger.
Back in those dark times, it used to be Birmingham and Stoke inflicting the damage. Nowadays, it is mainly Aston Villa. Avoiding carnage in the Black Country looked tricky given Wolves had already beaten City and Tottenham here.
Yet those successes were before the current major injury crisis decimating the hosts’ squad, so severe that Gary O’Neil named Wes Okoduwa, just 15, on the bench and handed a debut to midfielder Tawanda Chirewa, 20.
The Gunners, with Trossard and Gabriel Jesus starting, would have got off to a flier had Kai Havertz’s hooked volley inside 60 seconds not flown straight at home keeper Jose Sa. But while they dominated possession, there was a lack of pace or threat to Arsenal’s opening assaults.
That was summed up by a succession of lame efforts from Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Odegaard – none of which even troubled Sa. Wolves seemed happy to sit deep, allow Arsenal possession but precious little space – a tactic that worked well.
It was not all total one-way traffic, though, as Chirewa underlined on 27 minutes with a deflected, long-range effort saved comfortably by David Raya. On the half-hour mark, it was anything but simple for the Arsenal stopper as Joao Gomes skinned Jakub Kiwior and struck a vicious shot towards goal.
Somehow, Raya’s reflexes diverted the effort up against the bar before it was hacked to safety but relieved Arsenal had been served a warning. To be fair, they heeded it and responded to that scare in the best fashion just before the break.
Jesus held off Matt Doherty’s attention, rolled an inviting pass to Trossard, who struck a swerving side-footer into the far corner off the post. There was some debate if the Belgium midfielder actually meant his 14th goal in all competitions – and ninth in the league campaign.
The effort would not have looked out of place at the Crucible and the World Snooker Championship as the ball spun wickedly en route into Sa’s net.
But one person who did not care a jot was Arteta as the Gunners boss celebrated his decision to include both Jesus and Trossard. It was a vital breakthrough and one that Arsenal rarely looked like chucking away as they held out for a Premier League record sixth away clean sheet in a row.
They even added the gloss of a second in added time as Odegaard squeezed the ball home from a tight angle.
Daily Star Sunday
Mikel Arteta's Gunners returned to the top of the Premier League table with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Wolves thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard
And then there were five. Five more games for Arsenal to win.
Five more dates with destiny in a gripping title race. Five more occasions to prove they are no chokers. Yep, the Gunners returned to victorious ways at Wolves, reclaimed top spot and recharged their title dreams.
Leandro Trossard’s spectacular effort on the stroke of half-time also ended a 225-minute goal drought for the visitors – and in the process fired Mikel Arteta’s men a point clear of Manchester City. Martin Odegaard added the game-clinching second in added time.
The lead could be up to four points by Tuesday, if they beat Chelsea on their own patch, because City do not play again until a testing trip to Brighton on Thursday.
With the very real threat their season could be dead by the end of the evening, this was all about Arsenal preventing such a disaster – and securing a first win in four. The Gunners have been on streaks all this season – either lengthy, virtually faultless ones or brief blips of two or three setbacks.
That is why they wanted to bury any April hoodoo immediately and ensure a return to the summit they had suddenly abandoned six days earlier. That was their only possible plan of attack in the Midlands – so often a graveyard region when it came to previous botched Arsenal challenges under Arsene Wenger.
Back in those dark times, it used to be Birmingham and Stoke inflicting the damage. Nowadays, it is mainly Aston Villa. Avoiding carnage in the Black Country looked tricky given Wolves had already beaten City and Tottenham here.
Yet those successes were before the current major injury crisis decimating the hosts’ squad, so severe that Gary O’Neil named Wes Okoduwa, just 15, on the bench and handed a debut to midfielder Tawanda Chirewa, 20.
The Gunners, with Trossard and Gabriel Jesus starting, would have got off to a flier had Kai Havertz’s hooked volley inside 60 seconds not flown straight at home keeper Jose Sa. But while they dominated possession, there was a lack of pace or threat to Arsenal’s opening assaults.
That was summed up by a succession of lame efforts from Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Odegaard – none of which even troubled Sa. Wolves seemed happy to sit deep, allow Arsenal possession but precious little space – a tactic that worked well.
It was not all total one-way traffic, though, as Chirewa underlined on 27 minutes with a deflected, long-range effort saved comfortably by David Raya. On the half-hour mark, it was anything but simple for the Arsenal stopper as Joao Gomes skinned Jakub Kiwior and struck a vicious shot towards goal.
Somehow, Raya’s reflexes diverted the effort up against the bar before it was hacked to safety but relieved Arsenal had been served a warning. To be fair, they heeded it and responded to that scare in the best fashion just before the break.
Jesus held off Matt Doherty’s attention, rolled an inviting pass to Trossard, who struck a swerving side-footer into the far corner off the post. There was some debate if the Belgium midfielder actually meant his 14th goal in all competitions – and ninth in the league campaign.
The effort would not have looked out of place at the Crucible and the World Snooker Championship as the ball spun wickedly en route into Sa’s net.
But one person who did not care a jot was Arteta as the Gunners boss celebrated his decision to include both Jesus and Trossard. It was a vital breakthrough and one that Arsenal rarely looked like chucking away as they held out for a Premier League record sixth away clean sheet in a row.
They even added the gloss of a second in added time as Odegaard squeezed the ball home from a tight angle.
Daily Star Sunday