Gary Neville makes one-word Arsenal title claim after Mikel Arteta's Wolves explanation

Arsenal needed a late own goal to come out as 2-1 winners over Wolves at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.

Gary Neville has warned Arsenal that they will be in ‘danger’ of giving up their advantage in the Premier League title race if they turn out more performances like the one against Wolves.

The Gunners maintained their two-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, but had to rely on a 94th-minute own goal to do so. The late drama saw them come out as 2-1 winners over bottom side Wolves.

Despite the win, there has been a lot of talk over Arsenal’s performance in a game where they were expected to be comfortable. Wolves have just two points from their 16 games this season.

A Sam Johnstone own goal had given Arsenal the lead in the 70th minute, but they were pegged back in the 90th minute by a Tolu Arokodare equaliser. Mikel Arteta’s side were, though, able to grab all three points as Gabriel Jesus put Yerson Mosquera under enough pressure for the defender to head the ball into his own net.

While the result prompted celebrations, Neville has sent a warning to the side over the performance.

Speaking to NBC Sports, the pundit said: “If you’re getting into the changing room after the game, I think you’re probably getting a little bit of a telling off from your coach, saying basically, ‘That’s not good enough and you need to step your level of performance up because if you play like that too many times then you won’t win this league’.

“On the other hand, part of you is saying that you’re going to have performances and moments like this during the season and it’s not all going to be plain sailing.”

He added: “If I was in the dressing room I’d be giving myself a little bit of a slap around the face and saying, ‘Wake up, come on! We’re going to be in danger if we carry on playing at this level’.

“There has been a little bit of a dip for Arsenal in terms of performance. But it was important that they did get those three points, that is vital.”

Speaking after the game to TNT Sports, Arteta admitted that the performance wasn’t what he expects, with the Arsenal boss explaining what wasn’t good enough. “In the second half we did that a bit better and scored the goal,” said Arteta.

“And then we had a period of three minutes deep, so passive, really poor defensive habits.

“Not acceptable for our level, because we hadn’t conceded a single shot until that point. The first time they did it, they scored a goal, and that’s the Premier League.

“In the end, you rely on one individual action, one chaotic action, to win the game, and the margins should have been better. We created a lot of situations without picking the right player in the final pass.