Arsenal legend Alan Smith believes the Gunners’ unexpected 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers serves as a pivotal moment that could fundamentally shift the momentum of the Premier League title race. Arsenal appeared destined to extend their lead over Manchester City to seven points after establishing a commanding 2-0 cushion at Molineux. Bukayo Saka, marking his recent contract extension, ignited the scoring just five minutes into the match, while Piero Hincapié added a second shortly after the interval to put the league leaders in firm control against the division’s bottom-placed side.
Despite their dominant position, the North Londoners failed to kill off a Wolves team that entered the game with a mere nine points. Hugo Bueno revitalized the home crowd with a spectacular curling effort on the hour mark, setting the stage for a frantic finale. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, teenage debutant Tom Edozie pounced on a defensive breakdown to snatch a dramatic equalizer, leaving Arsenal just five points ahead of a Manchester City side that possesses a crucial game in hand and a looming head-to-head encounter in April.
“It feels like a really important moment, something crucial, and perhaps a turning point. We’ll wait and see. It’s now up to Manchester City to decide, but being two goals ahead against a team that’s at the bottom of the league with just nine points isn’t good enough for a team aiming to win the title. At the end, things fell apart because Trossard was just trying to waste time, and then David Raya got nervous and came out of his goal when he didn’t have to. That doesn’t look good for Arsenal handling pressure in the future. There’s definitely a lot of tension in the camp, and the whole situation is starting to really affect them. It happened tonight and will continue, but it’s not a good sign,” Smith told Sky Sports.
Smith specifically highlighted the late-game errors that led to the collapse, pointing to a lack of composure in the closing stages. He noted that Leandro Trossard’s attempts to run down the clock backfired, while goalkeeper David Raya’s decision to leave his line led to a disastrous collision with center-back Gabriel Magalhães. This miscommunication allowed Edozie to score into an unguarded net, a mistake Smith views as a symptom of the immense psychological weight currently resting on Mikel Arteta’s squad as they chase their first league trophy in over two decades.
“Mikel Arteta has a tough task ahead of him to bring everyone back to calm, it’s a major responsibility he’s taking on. They’ve got to settle down. We’ve talked a lot about them being the best team or group in the league, but the word “bottle” will come up a lot in the coming days. Man City will be thinking we’re close behind them, and with their experience, especially Guardiola’s, they’re really confident now,” Smith concluded.
