The Gunners lost to the team bottom of the table and another title slip up now looks likelier than ever
What is the best possible present Arsenal could have given Pep Guardiola and Manchester City? Well, a loss actually, but that would be ridiculous given Wolves have only won one out of 27 games this season, So Arsenal settled for the next best present: a draw at the Molineaux against one of the weakest teams in Premier League history.
And to top things off, they did it after blowing a two-goal lead. Arsenal went ahead as early as the fifth minute through the returning Bukayo Saka, before Piero Hincapie doubled the lead with his first goal for the club.
Two nil up, with an hour played, surely the top title candidates could manage to leave with all three points against a side that had managed only nine points all season? Arsenal collapsed incredibly after first Hugo Bueno halved the lead just after the hour, before youngster Tom Edozie came on for his first senior game and equalised in stoppage time.
😱 @Wolves rescue a point in stoppage time against league leaders @Arsenal! pic.twitter.com/oq0owi5BkZ
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 18, 2026
And now the title is out of Arsenal’s hands. They no longer have the initiative. In this slow-burning, set-piece-fuelled chess game of a title race this season, the Gunners have handed it over to City. They are still five points ahead, but City have a game in hand, and if they win that they cut the deficit to two points. And then they are still to host Arsenal at the Etihad in April.
In fact, if City win all of their remaining league matches, they will win the league, regardless of what Arsenal do.
And the Gunners’ next league games? Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, Chelsea at the Emirates, and Brighton at the Amex.
Needless to say, that is not a great position to be in, and another title slip up now looks likelier than ever. The damning thing is that Arsenal are not performing at their best. Far from it. They have only won twice in their last seven league games. That is not title-winning form.
Guardiola’s side may not exactly be flying this season either, but they are driven by a manager who has the experience of winning, and City have certainly looked far more stable and assured than Arsenal this season. Only Crystal Palace and West Ham have dropped more points from winning positions in the league in 2026 than Arsenal.
Just over a month ago it was difficult to envisage this. So remarkable has the slump been.
