Alan Smith says Arsenal’s shocking draw with Wolves couldn’t only be a ‘pivotal moment’ however the ‘turning point’ within the Premier League title race.
Arsenal looked set to open up a seven-point gap on second-placed Manchester City as they led Wolves 2-0 at Molineux.
Bukayo Saka celebrated signing a brand new cope with the Gunners by heading home Arsenal’s opener inside five minutes.
The league leaders weren’t at their best against the worst team within the division however the three points looked secured when Piero Hincapie doubled Arsenal’s lead after half-time.
But Hugo Bueno gave Wolves hope with a goal on the hour mark before Tom Edozie scored a dramatic injury-time equaliser.
The two-2 draw means Arsenal are five points ahead of Man City, who now have a game in hand and play host to Mikel Arteta’s side in April.
Arsenal legend Smith said the draw could possibly be the ‘turning point’ within the title race and accused goalkeeper David Raya of ‘panicking’ for Wolves’ equaliser.
Get your football fix
Don’t desire to miss the week’s biggest football stories? Metro’s exclusive football newsletter, In The Mixer, is your essential guide.
From the newest transfer rumours and managerial moves to evaluation of the most important games and so much more, our experts have you ever covered.
Join here, it’s an open goal.
Raya collided with Arsenal centre-back Gabriel in what turned out to be a hugely costly mix-up before Edozie scored Wolves’ late equaliser.
‘It seems like a pivotal moment, an important one, and perhaps a turning point,’ Smith told Sky Sports. ‘We’ll wait and see.
‘Obviously, it’s in Manchester City’s hands now but having been two goals up against the team that’s all-time low on nine points, it’s not ok for a team attempting to win the title.
‘And the best way things unravelled at the top with Trossard just attempting to waste time after which David Raya panicking, he got here out when he didn’t need to come back out it doesn’t bode well for Arsenal having the ability to handle the pressure.
“There’s clearly a whole lot of nerves inside the camp, the entire situation appears to be getting the higher of them. It did tonight and going forward nevertheless it doesn’t bode well.
‘It’s a giant job for Mikel Arteta now to calm things down, he’s got a giant job on his hands. They’ve got to quiet down.
‘We’ve spoken often about them being the perfect team or squad within the league but that word “bottle” shall be used quite a bit over the following few days.
‘Man City shall be pondering they will feel our breath on the shoulder and with their experience, with Guardiola’s experience, they’ll be really fancying it now.
‘Obviously, it’s a giant game against Newcastle for them on the weekend, but they will almost feel the nerves of the Arsenal team watching that tonight.’
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to an online
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Reacting to Arsenal’s defeat at Wolves, Saka said: ‘It’s very flat [the Arsenal dressing room]. I’m very disenchanted with the result and particularly how we played within the second half, it’s removed from the extent that we’ve set this season.
‘It’s time for us to reflect on the few performances and just fix the problems immediately so we are able to get back to winning games and occurring a run and construct momentum because we’ve lost that a bit right away.’
Asked whether his teammates were feeling the pressure of one other title race, Saka added: ‘No, I don’t take into consideration all of that.
‘I just think we want to only get back to our level, just do the fundamentals right. And we’ve got good enough quality on this team to win games, especially the games where we’ve been dropping points recently.
‘We just must fix that and that’s all our focus is right away.’
Arsenal face Tottenham in an enormous north London derby on Sunday, while Wolves return to Premier League motion against Crystal Palace.
Wolves had lost 19 of their 26 games before the spirited draw with Arsenal and have now amassed 10 points across the season.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the newest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE: Cole Palmer’s friend makes Man Utd transfer claim after holiday with Chelsea star
MORE: Manchester United board already ‘regret’ £26m transfer ‘mistake’
MORE: ‘It’s not right’ – Glenn Hoddle slams Arsenal star for his response to Wolves draw