The Premier League match between Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium was the fight to reduce the gap to the top four. At the end of 90 minutes, the Gunners proved that they deserved to win the game after the hard fight. This win is a statement from Arsenal as they want to be in the top four at the end of this season and prove that they are not an inferior team anymore.
Two late goals in the game gave the three points for Arsenal.
The Gunners were stunned early in the game by the Wolves, who had an excellent performance under Bruno Lage in the recent games. Hwang Hee-Chan scored the opening goal in the 10th minute after finding the net from a tight angle to defeat Aaron Ramsdale. This was enough for Wolves to hold on for the majority of the game, and the fans were expecting a one-goal win for Wolves. But Mikel Arteta would never give up the match, and he substituted Nicolas Pepe in the second half, hoping to find the equaliser.
In the 82nd minute, Pepe gave the well-deserved equaliser for Arsenal after controlling well to turn and shoot beyond the reach of Sa. Arsenal also got the advantage after the referee gave a lengthy added time after 90 minutes. There was some confusion over the substitutions of Wolves, and the stoppage time was increased.
It was enough for the Gunners to take the lead and grab all three points. Arsenal made the strange comeback which the fans were not expecting at the 95th minute.
Alexandre Lacazette’s shot from the narrow-angle was deflected, and it found its way into the net to give the winning goal to the Gunners. The late Jose Sa’s own goal handed them a 2-1 win deep in stoppage time.
“I feel really happy. It is amazing to win this kind of game in the last minute,” Lacazette said. “We really wanted this win because we know it is important to be at the top of the table. A bit sad [the goal] is not gone down for me, I want to score but most important is to win.”
After this win, Arsenal moved up to fifth position overtaking West Ham and is just one point away from the top four with the advantage of having two games in hand. Manchester United have played 26 games, but Arsenal has only paid 24 games.
“We don’t know today how important this will be, but we know the importance of winning our matches, and certainly at home, we know we have to be extremely good,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “In May, we want to be fighting for those places.
“The attitude, the spirit, the energy and the quality they put in to win the game was phenomenal.”
