It should have been a stroll against a side who had seemed to have nothing to offer. A generous quantity of goals to go with the one which had Arsenal ahead after only five minutes and two goals to the good after an hour.
But they left this place in a state of transparent desolation last night, haunted by the memory of recent titles sacrificed, the taunts of ‘Second again, Ole Ole!’ ringing in their ears.
Knowing that a resurgent Manchester City can squeeze their lead at the top to a mere two points by winning their game in hand, after a failure to drive home the advantage saw Wolves summon a late equaliser.
The strike which left Mikel Arteta’s players down on their haunches, scarcely able to contemplate two precious points squandered, encapsulated the escalating panic that had taken them over on an Arctic Midlands night.
David Raya came for a ball which Gabriel was in charge of, spilled it, and teenage substitute Tom Edozie’s speculative strike hit Riccardo Calafiori and went over the line.
There was no disguising the bitter frustration – Gabriel Jesus pushed over Yerson Mosquera and there was a skirmish in the aftermath – and no wonder.
Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead as they drew 2-2 with bottom of the table Wolves at Molineux
The Gunners were left in shock after wasting the chance to go seven points clear of Man City
Tom Edozie scored the equaliser on his Premier League debut in the fourth minute of added time
Arsenal needed two own goals to beat Wolves in December and had just watched another of their own, Calafiori, put into his own net.
The gradual accretion of errors in the second half had left Mikel Arteta a drenched and incandescent figure on the touchline, raging against this carelessness in the same way that Declan Rice was, as he remonstrated with his teammates.
There was neither pretence nor confection from the manager in the aftermath, last night. ‘It was one after the other, to be fair,’ he said of the errors. ‘It was a moment after another moment after another moment.’
He spoke flatly and without emotion in the modest press room here last night, in no way batting away the suggestion that there are question marks about the mentality of this team.
Until the minutes ticked down and the panic set in, it had seemed like the story of a new Arsenal, with Bukayo Saka, pressed into action as a No 10 for a second successive game and flourishing there.
He was there out of necessity, given the injuries to every other stand-in candidate – Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino – but what we witnessed was a glimpse of what the 24-year-old might become.
Though his was clearly a ‘10’ role, a position which put him in situ to head through goalkeeper Jose Sa’s legs to give Arsenal the early lead after Rice arced a beautiful ball into him, he roved all over the field.
There was a driving run from midfield past Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who managed to make ground and recover. His clipped balls to Gabriel Martinelli on the flank. The pass he rolled under his studs for Rice. A slalom run down the right side of box. Occasionally, Saka would drift wide to his old berth.
Mikel Arteta may be left to rue this missed opportunity, although they are still five points clear
Earlier, Bukayo Saka nodded Arsenal into the lead after five minutes from Declan Rice’s cross
Saka was unleashed in a new central role in Martin Odegaard’s absence and he impressed
Piero Hincapie made it 2-0 in the second half as he netted his first ever goal for the club
In the rain-battered little away dug-out, stuck like a capsule on the old Molineux running track, Eberechi Eze would have been peering out the unfolding game and wondering what kind of future Arsenal hold for him now. He arrived, in his own mind’s eye, last summer to become an Arsenal No 10.
At one moment during a break in play, Saka was deep in conversation with Viktor Gyokeres – another of those signings who hasn’t delivered – suggesting a positional move. The Swede nodded and as Saka trotted back into the midfield you had to remind yourself that he is still only 24.
The absence of the remotest competitive first half challenge to Arsenal – Jackson Tchatchoua on Wolves’ right looked like he’d wandered into the wrong match and Adam Armstrong was barely involved before a 50th minute strike – gave Arteta’s players the chance to score some goals.
Gabriel’s precision pass through the lines found Piero Hincapie, which he took on to score his first goal for the club just before the hour mark, with Hugo Bueno proving to have played the Ecuadorian onside when the goal was sent for VAR review.
Hincapie’s goal made him Arsenal’s 15th goalscorer this season and the presence of a defender where you expected Viktor Gyokeres to be somehow told the story of his struggle.
When sent through early in the second half, Gyokeres ran the ball into Ladislav Krejci.
That meant the game was still alive when Bueno made up for his positioning error by arcing in an improbable goal for Wolves.
Gyokeres still has only eight goals this season – not exactly champion class – and the return of Kai Havertz really cannot come soon enough. Arteta has suggested that he might be ready for Sunday’s North London derby.
But Hugo Bueno ensured it would be a nervy finish as he curled home a delightful effort
Edozie (second right) then stole the headlines as the game threw up incredible late drama
Tempers flared at full-time as Gabriel Jesus shoved Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera
Martinelli tried to add one of his own, shooting in the box, but his effort was blocked, leaving Arteta looking an anxious man as he stood in the deluge.
Saka was withdrawn with around 20 minutes to play after he was floored by a heavy challenge, though this seems a precaution after the hip injury which has kept him out.
The away contingent urged on a side who were looking increasingly comfortable and Wolves summoned some of the intent which had been missing for so long.
And the very death they were rewarded.
That fumble from Raya, and Edozie driving the ball through a forest of legs, in off the post. It should have been a Wednesday evening stroll. It ended as a hammer blow to Arsenal’s title hopes.
