Arsenal latest: Viktor Gyokeres in firing line as Mikel Arteta calls out ‘really poor habits’

Arsenal clinched a 2-1 victory over Wolves at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with the league leaders avoiding disaster with a last gasp winner

Arsenal can breathe a sigh of relief after scraping a 2-1 win against Wolves on Saturday.

The Gunners, who had recently drawn matches against Chelsea and Aston Villa, were well below par when they took on the Premier League’s bottom-placed side at home. Mikel Arteta's men had to wait until the 70th minute for the breakthrough, when Wolves' goalkeeper Sam Johnstone fumbled a corner from Bukayo Saka.

But the Emirates Stadium crowd was left stunned when Wolves' striker Tolu Arokodare scored with a header in the 90th minute, seemingly striking a huge blow to Arsenal's title hopes, only for Wolves to concede another own goal right before the final whistle.

With three points in the bag, Arsenal can now enjoy a brief respite before their next match against Everton on Saturday. After that, the demanding schedule will resume for the league leaders, as football.london highlights two of the latest stories involving the club.

Keown points out Gyokeres issue

Martin Keown has weighed in on Arteta's striker dilemma, declaring that Viktor Gyokeres is still not fully fit. Gyokeres returned to the starting line-up for the Wolves match after making several appearances off the bench in the Premier League, following an injury he sustained last month against Burnley.

The 27-year-old forward, who arrived in the summer for £64million, played for 81 minutes but found it difficult to impose himself and once more drew a blank in front of goal. When Gabriel Jesus came on in his place, the Brazilian's intelligent movement contributed to Yerson Mosquera's own goal, prompting club legend Keown to suggest Gyokeres' starting spot could be under threat.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Keown observed: “I think it’s Jesus’ movement that ultimately helps [create the goal]. The defender gets unlucky and Jesus doesn’t get the touch, but it’s his run and movement which helps and that is definitely food for thought for the manager.

“He looked good when he came on and Gyokeres is still not at the fitness level you would expect. There’s a real tussle for who is going to be that No.9 and Jesus has put himself right back in there.”

Poor habits re-emerge

Arteta's post-match frustration was clear to see as he addressed his side's tendency to sit back and allow the opposition to build momentum after establishing a lead. Wolves capitalised on this weakness and, without their dramatic late winner, Arsenal's title aspirations could have suffered a significant blow.

The Spanish manager stated: “We scored the goal but then we had periods of three minutes in deep. So, passive, really poor defensive habits.

“It’s not acceptable for our level because we haven't conceded a single shot till that point. The first time they do it, they score a goal.

“And that’s the Premier League, I'm going to be very much aware of that and improve that. Because at the end, you rely on individual action and very chaotic action to score the goal and win the game. The margins should have been bigger.“

Following an impressive run of flawless defensive displays, Arsenal have now shipped late goals in their previous two Premier League outings, with injuries affecting key players such as Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba contributing significantly.