WOLVERHAMPTON, England (REUTERS) - Arsenal's fragility on the road returned as a 3-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday (April 24) put a huge dent in their hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Unai Emery's side needed only a point to reclaim fourth spot from Chelsea but conceded three times before the break against a clinical Wolves side who moved up to seventh.
Ruben Neves opened the scoring with a superb 28th minute free kick before Matt Doherty's glancing header made it 2-0 nine minutes later.
Dreadful Arsenal defending allowed Diogo Jota to surge through and fire a shot past Bernd Leno on the stroke of halftime.
A late Sokratis Papastathopoulos header from Granit Xhaka's cross was scant consolation for the Gunners fans who watched their side lose a seventh away league game this season.
With three games left Arsenal remain in fifth place with 66 points, a point behind Chelsea and four behind third-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United are sixth with 64.
Wolves rose to seventh spot with 51 points - a position that could offer a route into European football next season - and are set to become the first promoted club to finish in the top eight since Reading in 2006-07.
Arsenal have now lost two matches in a row following Sunday's home defeat by Crystal Palace and they may need the backup option of winning the Europa League to claim a place in next season's Champions League.
Emery remained confident they can finish in the top four.
"We can be frustrated but the Premier League is about being consistent over 38 matches," the Spaniard said.
"Today, we're disappointed but we need to remember how we were three months ago.
"We can be optimistic and recover for the top four."
Arsenal dominated possession in the first 20 minutes but Joao Moutinho served notice of Wolves' threat as he curled wide after a flowing counter-attack.
Nacho Monreal was then penalised for a foul on Jota and Neves sent his curling free kick past Leno.
Arsenal switched off at a corner in the 37th minute, allowing Moutinho and Jonny to exchange passes before the latter's cross was glanced by Doherty past a flailing Leno.
In first-half stoppage time Arsenal carelessly conceded possession and Jota's angled shot beat Leno.
Arsenal did tighten up after the break but the damage had already been done.
Incredibly Wolves have now picked up 16 points in their matches against the current top six this season with wins over Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United and now Arsenal.
A 92nd-minute goal from midfielder Victor Camarasa and a penalty save from goalkeeper Neil Etheridge ensured Cardiff City beat Leicester City 1-0 for their first away victory of the Premier League
Cardiff earn first away win with late Camarasa strike at
A lawyer for FIFA council member Mahfuza Akhter Kiron is set to file a petition in a Bangladesh court on Tuesday seeking bail for the official who has been arrested in a defamation case following her criticism of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Bangladesh arrested FIFA official for 'defaming' PM Sheikh Hasina
Gonzalo Higuain has joined Chelsea on loan from Juventus for the remainder of the season, the Premier League club have confirmed. Chelsea then have the option to extend the loan deal for a season
Gonzalo Higuaín joins Chelsea from Juventus on loan with
UEFA said the Portuguese would face a hearing on Thursday for "improper conduct" during the last-16 second leg match, where Juventus completed a 3-2 aggregate win Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo is facing disciplinary action for his celebration after one of the three goals he scored in last week
Ronaldo faces disciplinary hearing over goal celebration
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has had a dream start to his managerial career at Old Trafford with Manchester United winning 9 out of their 10 games since Ole took over. There have been a few jittery moments in those 10 games especially against Spurs and Leicester, but the improvement in the attack has been
Man United turns to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Jose Mourinho
Football: Kane 'proud' of England response to race jibes in
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms contract withMolde has expired (at Molde).' Solskjaer has signed a deal with United until the end of the season and that any return to Molde would be down to the
Solskjaer's deal at Molde expires giving interim boss clear
Search the history of over 362 billion web pages on the Internet.
Aethw45ymen's health singapore november 2015 - Issuu
Klopp plays down Liverpool fatigue concerns ahead of season run-in. Football - Champions League - Liverpool Training - Melwood, Liverpool, Britain - April 16
Manchester United Sack Jose Mourinho, Caretaker Manager to be Appointed Manchester United have sacked manager Jose Mourinho after the club made their worst start to a season in almost 30 years, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday.
Jose Mourinho: Manchester United sack manager - BBC Sport
Ajax Amsterdam's Donny van de Beek grabbed an early goal to secure a precious 1-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday. The 22-year-old
Van de Beek gives Ajax edge over Tottenham in semi-final
Solid and smart Bayern hold Liverpool at Anfield Champions League experience and quality organisation as they held Liverpool to a goalless draw in the first leg of their last 16 match at
Liverpool vs Bayern Munich: Solid Bayern hold Liverpool to 0
0 comments:
Post a Comment