Not Good Enough from Arsenal: Pathetic display at Wolves sees more points dropped and serious questions raised as our latest title challenge threatens to unravel

The Arsenal players, boss and coaching staff need to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask if they really want this Premier League title 

Here's Ian Mills must-read column 'Three Things We Learned' after Arsenal's gut-wrenching awful dropping of two points at relegation-doomed Wolves 

 1 - Late goals conceded now a major problem:

 – this result makes our recent Premier League form just two wins from our last seven with four draws and one defeat. 11 points dropped from the last 21 available – that is not title winning form in any era.

Letting a 1-0 lead slip at seventh placed Brentford is one thing, losing a 2-0 advantage to the bottom placed side in the Premier League who have registered just one win all season and scored just 16 goals prior to this match is quite another.

This result follows hard on the heels of underwhelming goalless draws with both Liverpool and Nottingham Forest and the diabolical display in the home defeat to Manchester United.

Our Achilles heel remains the concession of late goals which have cost us all three points at Anfield, two points at Sunderland, all three points at Villa Park and the aforementioned two points to The Bees.

In addition, we did our best to drop points at home to Wolves conceding an injury time equaliser. We allowed Villa a consolation goal in stoppage time, Bournemouth a second goal and United’s painful winner.

In the Carabao Cup we gave Palace a lifeline in injury time in the quarter-final and Chelsea hope in the first leg of the semi-final. It is happening far too often.

We do not kill teams off when in front, we are happy to cede possession and try to see out a one goal margin of victory.

Nerves are fraught both in the stands and on the pitch.

Gabriel was there to clear the ball before Wovles’ equaliser, yet David Raya came for a ball he didn’t need to come for and just like at Sunderland the end result is two more dropped points.

This was the first time in Premier League history that the team at the top of the table had let a two-goal lead slip to a team in the relegation zone.

2 - Stop playing players into the ground:

 – after Christian Norgaard and Eberechi Eze both impressed against Wigan, they might have expected to keep their place in the West Midlands yet both found themselves back on the bench.

Jurrien Timber is one of my favourite players in this squad, yet when he was having a stinker in the second half down in part I am sure to sheer exhaustion due to the number of games he has played, why wasn’t Ben White called upon?

Despite another cup goal at the weekend, Gabi Martinelli was back to his frustrating worst in the Premier League yet somehow avoided being substituted. Gabriel Jesus replaced Viktor Gyokeres when both again were anonymous in attack.

What is it that say about the definition of insanity? Yes, we have injuries in our midfield, however it has been patently clear for while that the team is not functioning fluently and something has to be changed in order for it to do so.

We must be braver on the ball and look to use our attacking strengths. It has been regularly stated that we have the best squad this season, I would agree that is true in defence and possibly midfield however it is certainly not the case in attack.

3 - A massive response needed in the North London Derby: 

– the last time we played this match was just after the 2-2 draw versus Sunderland and we needed a performance and a result to both relieve the frustration and rebuild the team’s self-belief – we got exactly that back in November yet here we just under three months later requiring more of the same.

What this team has done well so far this season is respond well to setbacks.

We go into a hostile atmosphere with the home team under new, albeit temporary management.

The natives are restless however they are also desperate to see us fail to succeed in a title challenge for the fourth successive season.

To put it bluntly, if Mikel Arteta and the players are unable to get themselves up for this one then there really is no hope.

Manchester City will have likely cut our lead to two points before kick-off and erased our goal difference advantage.

The pressure will be all be on us. If we are to ensure the season does not implode then everyone in red and white needs to play like their lives depend upon it.

If the cannon ways too heavy on your chest at times like these then frankly you are not fit to wear the shirt.

For Mikel Arteta it feels as if his much fabled ‘project’ stands on the precipice.

Still in four competitions however any more bad results and it feels like it will collapse like the proverbial house of cards.

The players, manager and coaching staff need to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror today and ask themselves if they really want this title.

It is time for unity, positivity, and decisive action. Victoria Concordia Crescit.