Paul Merson hits out at Arsenal for playing in ‘second gear’ against Wolves – and gives verdict on where dramatic draw leaves tense Premier League title race
Arsenal hero Paul Merson hit out at his old side for playing in ‘second gear’ and said their 2-2 draw with Wolves could ‘come back to bite them’ in the Premier League title race.
The Gunners squandered a two-goal lead at Molineux on Wednesday in a result that means Manchester City could go to within two points of Mikel Arteta’s men if they win their game in hand.
It is Arsenal’s second draw in as many league games and the third time they have dropped points in their past five matches in the competition.
And Merson, who won two titles with Arsenal in 1989 and 1991, believes they could now pay the price for the slip-ups.
‘If Man City win all their games from now on they’ll win the league so, yeah, disappointing,’ he said on Sky Sports.
‘You can’t play in second gear. You seen when it went 2-2 there was an urgency, everybody was running. You can’t play like that. Every game is a cup final until the end.
Paul Merson said Arsenal’s draw with Wolves could ‘come back to bite them’ in the title race
Gabriel is furious after his mix-up with David Raya as Arsenal let a two-goal lead slip
‘If Arsenal play at a tempo, Wolves can’t live with them. But if they play the way that they play and it’s all slow, lazy, then Wolves will always be in the game. That could come back to bite them tonight.’
Arsenal had taken the lead in the opening five minutes through Bukayo Saka, before Piero Hincapie doubled their advantage 11 minutes after the second-half restart.
It looked like the Gunners were going to leave Molineux seven points clear of City, but the Premier League’s basement boys had other ideas.
Wolves first reduced the deficit through Hugo Bueno’s curling effort on 61 minutes before a dramatic 94th-minute strike from Tom Edozie bounced off Riccardo Calafiori on its way in to secure a draw.
Merson also directed the blame at the way Arsenal played before scuppering the three points.
‘I can’t believe how many times they gave the ball away so cheaply,’ he said.
‘It was so cheap. Instead of dictating the game… and drawing Wolves out, I don’t think they put three or four passes together at stages in the second half.
‘I’m not going to get away (from it), Wolves aren’t a great team. They had nine points before tonight so they’re not the team we expect to come back from 2-0 down and get a draw against Arsenal.
Debutant Tom Edozie’s 94th-minute equaliser bounced off Riccardo Calafiori on its way in
‘(Arsenal) have to be more patient. They’re forcing it, but they’re playing in second gear.
‘It reminds me of when we won the league years ago and it was “1-0 to the Arsenal”. It feels like that to me. It feels like “we’ll get a goal, we’re alright now, we won’t let in any more goals and we’ll be solid”.
‘But it doesn’t happen. You’re always going to get a chance in football nowadays.’
Merson also credited Edozie – who made his debut in the match – for keeping his cool with the late strike and joked that he could become a ‘Man City hero’.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Arteta said the draw was ‘very tough to accept’.
‘In the second half we did not perform in the way we should and the way we require to win a Premier League match,’ the Arsenal boss admitted.
‘It is better not to judge it, we are all too emotional about it. You have to take the hit because we deserve it.
‘It is very easy with emotion to say things that can damage the team. Everyone wants to do their best. Nobody questions that. Today we weren’t at the level, at the races and at the standards that are required.
Arteta said the 2-2 draw was ‘very tough to accept’ and urged his team to now ‘stand up’
‘And when you do that and you want to be at this level you have to take the hit. You have to go through tough periods. Today at the last minute, we paid the price. We have to do basic things much better than we have done.’
‘The enjoyment comes from moments of suffering as well. If you believe you can come into any game in the Premier League and you don’t have to go through tough periods, that’s not the reality.’
He added that his side now need to ‘stand up’ in their hunt for a first Premier League title since 2004 and urged them to bounce back when they travel to bitter rivals Tottenham on Sunday.
‘When they have a moment of difficulty, and we feel really frustrated with ourselves, you have the perfect game against Spurs away to go and show how much you want it and show how good we are,’ he said.
‘That’s it. Talk on the pitch.’
