Despite the soft goal conceded, Mikel Arteta admitted he was pleased with the overall display of his team. "I can only praise the players. They were excellent. We played against a really good side and generated so much and conceded almost nothing. The scoreline should have been very different," he said after the game.
"We were very unlucky because we hit the post three times I think. At the end we made an error close to the goal - in the Premier League you get punished big time for that. Then at the end, it’s game on."
Your morning Arsenal digest on Sunday, December 3.
Arteta details Rice conversation
Mikel Arteta has revealed what he told Declan Rice during Arsenal's clash with Wolves after the 24-year-old was involved in Cunha's late goal. Since his transfer from West Ham, Rice has been an integral part of the Gunners' starting XI with a number of dominant midfield performances put in.
Injury issues have often seen Rice deployed ahead of Jorginho in midfield, but with Martin Odegaard back, the England international was back in his preferred holding role. In his post-match press conference, Arteta has now revealed that his conversation was not because of his involvement in the goal conceded by Arsenal.
He said: "No, I was just praising him for the way he played again. I’m so happy. It was nothing about that."Mbappe boost
Both Arsenal and Chelsea have been handed a boost in their respective hopes of signing Paris Saint Germain forward Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe turned down fresh contract proposals from PSG over the summer, with Real Madrid favourites to land the French international.
However, a Premier League move has also been mooted as an option. The Gunners, the Blues and Liverpool have all been linked with Mbappe, although transfer expert Florian Plettenberg has now reported that the Reds are not targeting the 24-year-old. Writing on X, Plettenberg said: “Been told that Liverpool is NOT pushing for Kylian #Mbappé.
“His transfer in summer 2024 ist not an issue at this stage. #LFC.
“#PSG, still totally relaxed as they are financially secured (contractually) for his possible departure. Real Madrid is still the most realistic destination for him, either next year or the year after.”
Title claim
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil has argued that Arsenal had a great chance of winning the Premier League title last season before William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu went down injured during a Europa League clash against Sporting CP. "I think they’re excellent," O'Neil said of the Gunners before yesterday's match.
"Their position in their Champions League group, their position in the Premier League tells you exactly what they are. They’ve made some improvements and would have possibly gone on to win the league last year without the injury in the back line they suffered late on."
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