By Ayomide Otitoju
Arsenal’s Premier League title bid suffered a major setback as they surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.
The Gunners looked on course to extend their lead at the top after Bukayo Saka opened the scoring early, followed by a second-half strike from Piero Hincapie. A win would have moved Mikel Arteta’s side seven points clear.
However, Arsenal faltered in the closing stages. Hugo Bueno’s strike brought Wolves back into the game, before a stoppage-time own goal by Riccardo Calafiori, following a mix-up between goalkeeper David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes, completed a dramatic comeback.
This marks the second consecutive league match in which Arsenal failed to hold a lead, following last Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Brentford, raising concerns over their ability to close out games during the title run-in.
The draw leaves second-placed Manchester City just five points behind with a game in hand, keeping the title race finely poised ahead of their crucial home clash with Arsenal in April.
Saka gave Arsenal an early boost, scoring after just five minutes from a Declan Rice cross, ending his 15-match goal drought. Hincapie’s goal doubled the advantage, initially ruled out for offside but reinstated after a VAR review.
Wolves responded as Bueno curled in a spectacular strike, and the late drama came in stoppage-time when Calafiori’s own goal denied Arsenal victory.
The result highlighted Arsenal’s struggles to maintain composure under pressure, casting fresh doubt on their hopes of winning a first English top-flight title since 2004.
