Arsenal legend Martin Keown (Picture: Getty)
Martin Keown downplayed the importance of Arsenal’s shocking 2-2 draw with Wolves on the Premier League title race but admitted his former club were missing ‘important’ Kai Havertz.
The Gunners threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with a Wolves side who have won just once this season and amassed only ten points from 27 games.
Arsenal looked on course for a comfortable evening when Bukayo Saka headed the visitors’ ahead inside five minutes.
The game appeared done and dusted when Piero Hincapie doubled Arsenal’s lead after half-time, but Wolves produced a stunning comeback to dent Mikel Arteta’s title hopes.
Hugo Bueno curled home a brilliant strike to give Wolves hope with half an hour remaining and the Premier League basement boys scored a dramatic equaliser in injury-time through Tom Edozie.
The surprising draw means Arsenal lead title rivals Manchester City by just five points, with Pep Guardiola’s able to cut the gap to two when they play their game in hand.
Keown admitted Arsenal wasted a ‘great opportunity’ to strengthen their grip on the Premier League trophy against Wolves and said Arteta’s side need to recover quickly with two London derbies up next.
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Wolves stunned Premier League leaders Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
The Gunners visit north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday before taking on their Carabao Cup semi-final opponents Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
‘I can’t say I didn’t see it [Wolves’ equaliser] coming because it didn’t look comfortable for Arsenal,’ three-time title winner Keown said on Premier League Productions.
‘It just felt like we were hoping we could win it rather than going and grabbing it. This will be a lesson for the group.
‘It’s not over for Arsenal but they must ensure this isn’t the beginning of the end of their quest to become champions and use it as oxygen.
Arsenal and Man City’s remaining Premier League fixtures… 👀 pic.twitter.com/UeytVAtGUB— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 18, 2026
‘They had a great opportunity to go further clear tonight but they didn’t have the conviction to finish the game off.
‘It’s been a bad night but there’s so long left of the season. You get knocked down, you get back up again, that’s the life of a professional footballer.
‘Arsenal need to turn it around but even if they had won tonight it wouldn’t have been over and it’s certainly not over now they’ve drawn.
‘The key is how they react now because they can’t keep going ahead and getting pegged back.’
Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s dismal draw (Picture: Getty)
Keown also bemoaned the continued absence of Arsenal forward Havertz, who recently suffered a fresh injury setback.
Havertz has only made three Premier League appearances so far this season and is expected to be out for at least another game.
‘I would like to see Kai Havertz back, he’s becoming maybe all too important because he’s been injured again,’ Keown added.
‘That’s not his fault but it’s been painful. You need to get people back because it hurts the group. You need that match-winner, someone who gives everyone belief and puts the game out of sight.’
Kai Havertz missed Arsenal’s draw at Wolves (Picture: Getty)
What did Mikel Arteta say after the Wolves draw?
‘We’re very disappointed with the end result, but I think we have to fault ourselves,’ a deflated Arteta said after Arsenal’s setback at Molineux.
‘I think the performance in the second half doesn’t show the level and the standards required in the Premier League to win in the manner that we should have won the game, especially in the way that we played in the first half.
‘It’s very tough, we are frustrated because it’s down to us. It’s time to talk on the pitch because anything that we say right now comes from anger, frustration, disappointment, and there’s nothing coming through that is going to benefit and help the team going forward.
‘It’s nothing to do with attitude or with desire. There were a lot of things that went wrong in the second half that didn’t allow us to have any dominance, even though we scored the second goal. We never felt that we were in control of the game.’
Arsenal are bidding to win their first Premier League title since 2004 but are battling a Manchester City side who have won six of the last eight trophies.
Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table will be just two points by the time they face Spurs if Man City beat Newcastle United the previous day.
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