Wolves 2-2 Arsenal: Premier League leaders blow two-goal lead to drop crucial points

Arsenal dropped crucial points in the Premier League title race after blowing a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with bottom-side Wolves.

The Gunners led 2-0 through goals from Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapie early in each half but Hugo Bueno’s stunner halved the deficit before 19-year-old debutant Tom Edozie capitalised on a mix-up from David Raya to strike towards goal to stun the league leaders for a goal which eventually went down as a Riccardo Calafiori own goal.

After being minutes from a nine-point lead at the summit, Manchester City can now close the gap to just two points with a win over Newcastle on Saturday, with the Gunners visiting Tottenham in the North London derby a day later. Wolves remain bottom of the table of 10 points, 17 from safety.

Wolves vs Arsenal as it happened

It took Arsenal just five minutes to go ahead when Saka, lining up in a new central No10 position, ghosted in for a glancing header from Declan Rice’s cross as he celebrated his new five-year contract in style.

The Gunners did not rest on their laurels early on and Rice was not far off making it 2-0 when he flashed a shot from distance just wide of the post.

Jose Sa then had to be on hand for a double save to keep out Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli before the former headed another wide, with Wolves well and truly hanging onto just a one-goal deficit by a thread as the game approached half-time.

Andre flashed a rare Wolves shot wide of the goal before Tolu Arokodare blazed another effort over the bar, before an Arsenal penalty was waved away just before the break.

Just like how they started the first half, Arsenal found the net just five minutes after the interval when Hincapie found the net after racing onto Gabriel’s through ball and while originally flagged for offside, VAR overturned the decision and put the Gunners seemingly in control.

But only three minutes later, the lead was just one goal once again as Hugo Bueno picked the ball up on the right before cutting inside and unleashing a stunning strike into the far corner.

The goal undoubtedly shifted the mood in this game with Wolves growing into the game as Arsenal’s nerves increased, though David Raya was not tested too much in the visitors’ goal.

That was until a cross came into the box in added time and the Spanish goalkeeper flapped at the ball, allowing Edozie – who had just come on for his senior debut – to squeeze the ball into the back of the net and earn the strugglers a draw that will give them a huge lift – but also have significant implications at the top of the table.