Arsenal must improve defensively despite win over Wolves, says Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta let rip at his players following their 2-1 Premier League home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, saying their “horrible defensive habits” made the margin of victory narrower than it should have been.

Arsenal took the lead with 20 minutes left via an own goal from Wolves keeper Sam Johnstone, but were given a massive scare when the visitors equalised through Tolu Arokodare in the 90th minute.

Their blushes were spared, however, when Yerson Mosquera headed the ball into his own net in the 94th minute to ensure victory for the league leaders.

“It was a relief (to win), but a very clear understanding that the margin should have been bigger,” an irate Arteta told reporters.

“After not being precise enough in the first half with the amount of situations that we generated inside the opposition box, and we didn’t pick the right colour of shirt on so many occasions, we had an overload to do that. We had to improve in the second, I think we did it.

“We generated more chances, scored a goal, but after we had a period of two or three minutes in deep, totally passive, with horrible defensive habits, that is nowhere near the level that is required against a team that hasn’t had a single shot.

“The first time that they had the opportunity to do it, they scored the goal.”

Arsenal, who are looking to end their run of three straight second-placed finishes in the Premier League, top the standings with 36 points.

With the North London side will face a tough test of their title credentials during the hectic Christmas period, Arteta urged his players to take the right lessons from their hard-fought win over Wolves.

“Learn from it and then move on, and every time you win in the Premier League, you should be happy,” he added.

“You should be conscious of the difficulty of it, but we made it even harder for ourselves today and that’s the big lesson that we have.”

Arsenal next face Everton on Saturday.