Arteta Angry with Arsenal's Attitude after Draw Against Wolves: Deserving of Criticism!

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal deserved to be criticized (Instagram/@arsenal).

JAKARTA - Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his team can only blame themselves after losing a two-goal lead and drawing 2-2 against bottom-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

He added that all the criticism of his team was fair after the result. The Gunners are now just five points clear of Manchester City after playing one more game and winning only two of their last seven league games.

Arteta said his team must accept any criticism that comes and needs to bounce back against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, February 22, 2026.

"That's obviously a compliment to Wolves, they can't be underestimated. These are very basic and simple things that we did very wrong today."

"That's why we conceded a lot. When the game is open, that kind of thing can happen. Every question, criticism, opinion, you have to accept it with an open mind today. That's all."

"Please criticize whatever because we didn't perform at the level needed. Whatever people say can be true because we didn't do what we should have done."

"The way to prove it is on the pitch on Sunday, in another big opportunity we have."

"We always do it. If you are strong, you need to show it another time. Saying it here is simple, but we have to show it on the field," said Arteta.

Bukayo Saka scored his fifth goal of the season to give Arsenal an early lead and they doubled the advantage 11 minutes into the second half through Piero Hincapie's first goal for the club putting the Gunners in a commanding position.

However, Hugo Bueno's sensational kick narrowed the gap just after the 60th minute. Wolves then balanced the score in the final minutes through Tom Edozie to cast doubt on Arsenal's hopes of winning the English League title.

Arteta added that his team was far from its best performance and had to introspect itself for losing points again.

"Of course it's very disappointing with the result and the way the game ended, but we have to blame ourselves."

"The performance in the second half, we didn't show the standard that is required in this league to win. This is a moment of disappointment, we want to talk a lot about our feelings, but this is not the time to do it."

"When you are at this level and at the top, you have to accept defeats, today we deserved it. On Sunday, we have a big game coming up."

"It was moment by moment. Even though we scored the second goal, we never dominated the game, that's the reality," Arteta said.

Arsenal have topped the table in the last three league title races, but have finished second in each season.

A draw on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, may have revived the bad memories that they might once again be in second place after losing the lead.

Wolves coach Rob Edwards saw his side pick up a second successive draw and was proud of the confidence his side showed to earn an unexpected point.