Wolverhampton Wanderers beat another Premier League giant at Molineux with Arsenal going down to goals from Ruben Neves, Matt Doherty and Diogo Jota.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery has admitted his side were outplayed by Wolves as they slumped to a second successive Premier League defeat on Wednesday night, in quotes reported by the Birmingham Mail.
The Gunners were desperate to respond after Sunday’s calamitous 3-2 defeat against Crystal Palace at The Emirates but they were swept aside in the opening 45 minutes in the Black Country, Ruben Neves, Matt Doherty and Diogo Jota firing Wolves into a 3-0 lead.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos, back from suspension, pulled a goal back in the second half but it was too late for an Arsenal side who are still a point outside the top four.
Though Emery, to his credit, was gracious in defeat and praised a Wolves side who defended manfully against Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and co as Arsenal failed to produce a shot on target in the first half.
“They are defensively very strong and they are having a very good season because they have good players,” said the former PSG and Sevilla coach.
“We didn’t do anything different in the last third. We tried but didn’t create chances to score. One reason is because they worked very well defensively.
“We need to respect them in this moment. Really they were better than us and they were stronger in their game plan and they beat us.”
The result means that Wolves have beaten four of the Premier League’s top six this season, while Willy Boly, Ryan Bennett and Conor Coady deserve huge credit for another excellent defensive display that keeps Nuno’s side in contention for a Europa League place.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
