Arsenal’s Uefa Champions League exit at Bayern Munich on Wednesday has tested their “ego” and identity, manager Mikel Arteta has said after the Gunners recovered to return to the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win at Wolves.
Leandro Trossard struck on the stroke of half-time and Martin Odegaard slotted in from a tight angle in the 95th minute, sending their side a point clear of Manchester City, who have a game in hand.
The result was their first victory in four games in all competitions following a 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa last Sunday and a 1-0 defeat in Munich which sent them out in the quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.
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“The game tests you,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “If you want to be at the top and fighting for big things, you have to show that resilience.
“When a competition touches your ego and questions who we are as a team, the best way to [answer] it is on the pitch.
“We totally deserved to win. We opened them up a lot of times but lacked that shot at the end or our shots were blocked or weren’t of the right quality. The keeper [Jose Sa] made some big saves as well. Wolves are a team who have cost big teams points.”
“We didn’t deserve to lose 2-0”
Gary O’Neil says he’s ‘really proud’ of Wolves’ performance tonight against league leaders Arsenal! 💫 pic.twitter.com/wu4fZuZhlr
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 20, 2024
Arsenal top Premier League table
Arsenal had been unbeaten in the league in 2024 before two late Villa goals handed them their first defeat and gave City the advantage in the title race.
They can move four points clear with two fewer games to play by beating Chelsea at home on Monday in the first of their five remaining matches.
“Now is the time to prove who we are as a team,” said Arteta. “If you want to make another step forward as a team, as a club, you have to leave those weeks and live with whatever the outcome is.
“We have come quite far – not as far as we want, for sure. We didn’t deserve to lose [against Villa] but we’ve lost.
“The run we have been on since January is unbelievable and we still haven’t been top of the league.”
City are not in league action this weekend because of their FA Cup semi-final commitment, beating Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley on Saturday.
