Mikel Arteta points finger at Arsenal stars despite late Wolves win - 'Not acceptable'

Mikel Arteta has blasted his Arsenal players after they almost let a one-goal lead slip against Wolves. The Gunners boss described the performance at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday night as unacceptable.

Arsenal broke the deadlock midway through the second half when Bukayo Saka's corner forced an unfortunate error. The Arsenal talisman struck the inside of the far post, and the ball rebounded off Sam Johnstone's head and into the net.

Tolu Arokodare equalised in the opening minutes of stoppage time, leaving David Raya rooted to the spot with an excellent header. Then, a few moments later, Saka restored the north Londoners' lead, forcing another own goal from Wolves.

Arsenal almost dropped crucial points in the race for the Premier League title, and Arteta was furious with his players. Speaking on TNT Sports after the game, the Spaniard went on a rant – and he began by singling out Gabriel Martinelli.

Arteta said: "Yeah, [winning] is at the end of the day, but we knew it was gonna be a tough match, especially if we didn't manage to score early in the game. We had a lot of situations in the first half.

"One massive big chance for Martinelli, two yards out, totally free, and we don't score. But we struggled once we arrived into those danger zones to pick a red shirt in the box."

Arteta continued: "We had many situations, and then we didn't generate many clear chances. In the second half, we did that a bit better, we scored the goal. But then we had periods of three minutes in deep, so passive, really poor defensive habits.

"Not acceptable for our level because we haven't conceded a single shot until that point. The first time they do it, they score a goal. That's the Premier League."

He added: "We are very much aware of that and have to improve that because at the very end we rely on one individual action, a very chaotic action to score the goal and win the game, and the margin should have been bigger."

Saka was a little more composed when he spoke to TNT Sports. Reflecting on the result, the Arsenal star said: "Sometimes you need that luck, today went our way, so we’ll take the points and move forward.

"We won’t know until May [what this win means], but we can be happy tonight, despite the performance and how the game went."

He added: "Morale is high! "We have a break until next week now, so we can reflect on the past few performances and be ready to go again next week."

Welcome to 'Seeing Red' - our new Arsenal podcast

We've launched a new Arsenal podcast 'Seeing Red' with chief football writer John Cross and Arsenal reporter Tom Canton.

Each week, they will dive deep into the biggest topics as they follow Mikel Arteta's side every step of the way - and will also discuss nostalgic flashbacks before each fixture.

It's a great time to be an Arsenal fan, with the Gunners flying high under Arteta as they look to win silverware this season.

The North Londoners are going strong in the Premier League and Champions League - and they're also in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

We'll provide insight and reaction - and have fun along the way - as Arsenal target the biggest trophies this season.

No stone will be left unturned. VAR controversy? Poor performances? Unsung hero who deserves praise? Fixture chaos? We'll have it all covered.

Click here to view our YouTube channel

Click here to download our podcasts