Arsenal Play With Only 10 Men Against Wolves, Arteta: We Suffered A Lot In The Last 10 Minutes
JAKARTA - Week 24 of the 2021/2022 English League requires Arsenal to visit Wolverhampton headquarters on Friday, February 11 in the morning WIB. But in that trip there was a surprising moment for Arsenal.
Appearing at the Molineux Stadium, The Gunner was surprised by a red card aimed at Gabriel Martinelli. The moment happened after the player got two yellow cards in a matter of seconds.
Because of that, Arsenal were forced to play with ten players remaining. But fortunately, despite losing one player for the Gunners, Arsenal were still able to subvert Wolves with the final score 1-0.
The only goal for Arsenal was presented by Gabriel in the 25th minute after utilizing a mature pass from Alexandre Lacazette.
Seeing how his team struggled with ten men but managed to get full points, Mikel Arteta as the coach was clearly proud. But he admitted that he was surprised by the red card that Martellini received.
"I've never seen that (red card). I've been in this country for 18 years and I've never seen anything like it," Arteta told Arsenal's official website.
"We made it difficult for ourselves playing with ten men. We suffered a lot in the last ten minutes. I've never seen anything like this," he said.
Arsenal were finally able to secure a win, but Arteta also admitted the situation had made it difficult for the team. Moreover, the movement of Wolves as the host is also very closely guarding the movement of their foster children on the field. Luckily at the end of the match they were able to cheer for joy because they were able to prove the strength of the team that did not stop fighting throughout the match.
"We put ourselves in trouble with the red card and we have to try hard. Wolves threw seven men forward and it was difficult to keep a clean sheet but we defended the box really well."
After successfully defeating Wolves with ten players at home, Arteta wants this moment to be a lesson for his team. He also asked the players to be more focused on the upcoming matches.
"We have to go game by game and there is a small margin to win the game. We have to keep improving. Our reality is the next game."
With three points pocketed by the Gunners from Wolves headquarters, Arteta's troops can push up to fifth place in the standings to replace Manchester United. Both teams are known to have both collected 39 points, but this time Arsenal are ahead on goal difference and have one game to play.