Arteta reveals what cost Arsenal defeat to Wolves

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists his side should have won at Wolves and were hurt by one key decision that influenced the game.

Mikel Arteta rued missed chances from his side and insists the red card to David Luiz changed the course of the game.

After going 1-0 up, the Gunners suffered a 2-1 defeat to Wolves at the Molineux. Wolves equalised from the penalty spot and went on to win a match in which they had been second best for so long.

If the defeat wasn’t enough, Arsenal finished the game with nine men as David Luiz and Bernd Leno both got their marching orders.

The Gunners might have themselves a red card problem as they now have nine dismissals since Mikel Arteta took charge of the club. That is the most by any side in that period.

Premier League red cards since Mikel Arteta took charge of Arsenal:

9 – Arsenal
8
7
6
5
4
3 – nine teams

It goes from bad to worse. 😳 pic.twitter.com/0vkq0xv489
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 2, 2021

While Bernd Leno made a ‘catastrophic’ mistake, the red card to David Luiz was highly debatable as many claimed it was never a sending off.

No card vs Red card pic.twitter.com/4JPdKykTpm
— Max. ✍🏼 (@AFCMax9) February 2, 2021

Arsenal had many chances to kill the game in the first half and even had a Bukayo Saka goal disallowed early on.

Mikel Arteta rued his side’s missed chances and blamed the red card to Luiz as the turning point of the game.

“I think with the way we played in the first half, we should have been three or four goals up,” Arteta told Arsenal Media.

“We really dominated the game, we created some big chances that we could not score. We hit the post, hit the bar, some big saves. Then the turning point was when David got sent off. It was 1-0 just before half-time, we go to 10 men, concede a goal and then it’s a mountain to climb.”

Regardless, Arteta says he was pleased with the fight his side put off after going two-men down.

“I told them that I’m so proud of them because of the way they reacted in the second half, the way they tried to come out and still tried to win the game, it was magnificent,” he said.

“At half-time they were all really animated and encouraging each other to rebuild as a team and try to still win it. Even with nine players, the way they tried was incredible.”