Arsenal maintain top-four push thanks to late Wolves own goal

Posted Friday, February 25, 2022 by PA

Arsenal kept their Premier League top-four push moving in the right direction as a last-gasp Jose Sa own goal saw them come from behind to beat Wolves.

The Gunners had looked on course to lose ground on the sides above them but ultimately ran out 2-1 winners as Sa palmed an Alexandre Lacazette effort into his own net in the closing stages.

Earlier, Hwang Hee-chan had been gifted the chance to put Wolves ahead and they appeared set to leapfrog Arsenal into fifth before two goals in the last eight minutes turned the game on its head.

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— Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 24, 2022

Club-record signing Nicolas Pepe levelled with a smart turn and finish just 11 minutes after he came off the bench, but it was Sa’s unfortunate glove which completed a comeback for Mikel Arteta’s side – who now sit just a point behind fourth-placed Manchester United with two games in hand.

The PA news agency understands Arteta has been granted a meeting with referee chiefs at PGMOL after being unhappy with a number of decisions he feels have gone against Arsenal in recent weeks.

One of those was the sending off of Gabriel Martinelli in the reverse fixture just a fortnight ago and, with the forward returning from his ban here, he was soon embroiled in more controversy.

With less than a minute on the clock, the hosts wanted a penalty as Martinelli appeared to be caught by Nelson Semedo, but play continued, much to the irk of the home side.

Wolves then had the ball in the net only to see Roman Saiss’ effort chalked off for offside, but they soon hit the front.

Arsenal maintain top-four push thanks to late Wolves own goal — Nicolas Pepe levelled for Arsenal (John Walton/PA)

Gabriel Magalhaes, scorer of the only goal as Arsenal won at Molineux, gifted possession to Hwang and he nipped in ahead of Aaron Ramsdale to finish.

The rest of the first half saw everyone involved with Arsenal become more and more frustrated and a smattering of jeers met the half-time whistle.

They were struggling to break down a resolute Wolves back line, with Lacazette in particular wasteful in and around the penalty area.

The introduction of Pepe and Eddie Nketiah turned the tide as the two combined to equalise and give renewed vigour to their chances of taking all three points.

The win was secured deep into added time as Nketiah slipped in Lacazette and his effort was palmed into his own net by Sa, leaving Arsenal celebrating on the pitch in a manner which saw them criticised by their Wolves counterparts in the return game.