There was a point in the second half when Declan Rice seemed to have run out of steam. After forcing the Wolves midfielder into his own half, the England international drove Mario Lemina out of play. Though it may seem insignificant, every victory counts in a title race this close.

Rice could scarcely celebrate it, though. The record signing for Arsenal failed to even raise his arm to accept a congrats from Jakub Kiwior as he stretched out to give him a high five.

It was a concerning assessment of the level of exhaustion that permeates this Arsenal team at the moment. The fact that Rice still had 20 minutes left when she looked at the clock was maybe the most worrisome thing of all for the Gunners.

Arsenal’s turnaround has been really tight. They spent the night in Munich and on Thursday morning took a plane home. After returning in the afternoon, the players trained again on Friday morning before wrapping up their media commitments and traveling to Wolverhampton.

Now, Arsenal had lost their last several games with a whimper. Would the past happen again against a diminished but motivated Wolves team?
The issue was addressed in the ninetieth minute when Rice dashed into the box to send a ball over the area and earn Arsenal a corner. In those six minutes of extra time, the Gunners discovered something more—truly, the stuff that makes a champion.

Bukayo Saka skillfully maneuvered through the Wolves defense and scored. Jose Sa’s palms stung from the rice. The pressure was immense until Martin Odegaard’s astute decision-making at the conclusion of an incredible team play ultimately secured three points.

In the race for the championship, a clearly worn-out team could hardly gather the energy to celebrate such a significant accomplishment. Mikel Arteta arrived for his press conference looking equally worn out but, more importantly, satisfied.

“We stayed in Munich, and I believe we slept for an hour or two,” he remarked. “Get up, talk about Wolves, then the players’ needs and how we’re going to get them in the best physical and mental shape so we can defeat them and win this game.” The staff was amazing, and the boys were amazing. It’s a pleasure working with them.

“We realized that you have to do something exceptional if you want to be in the major championships, competing for the Premier League, the Champions League, and the level that needs. To achieve the desired results, you must possess unique qualities, enjoy competition, and be willing to put yourself out there when necessary. The boys performed that pretty well, in my opinion, today.


Over the past week, there has been talk of a crisis, and it would have been difficult to deny if Arsenal had lost to Wolves, a team that had just ten healthy senior outfield players.

But winning teams are exactly formed of this extra energy reserve, this ability to run on fumes when you believe you have nothing left. While it may not rank among Arsenal’s greatest efforts, this one could rank among their most significant.


There have been several hints over the past week that the Gunners’ season is done. It very well could have been in earlier times.


They can no longer afford to stutter over the finish line as they once did. Naturally, they are still awaiting a favor from Manchester City, but if the final six minutes at Molineux are any indication, they possess the tenacity and fortitude needed to challenge Pep Guardiola’s team all the way.