Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has admitted that he felt ‘nervous’ as the Gunners clung on to beat Wolves 2-1 at the Emirates after Matheus Cunha scored a late goal.
Cunha gave the Old Gold a lifeline in the 86th minute on Saturday after punishing Oleksandr Zinchenko’s mistake. The Arsenal wing-back dallied in possession to let Wolves steal the ball inside the area. Cunha would unleash a fierce strike into the top corner of David Raya’s goal.
Goals bookended the Premier League clash at Emirates Stadium as Bukayo Saka broke the deadlock after only six minutes. The Hale End hero rolled the ball into the bottom corner of Jose Sa’s net after a nice interchange with Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the box.
Martin Odegaard admits he was ‘nervous’ after Wolves scored
Arsenal soon led Wolves 2-0 within 13 minutes when Odegaard drilled a shot into the other corner of Sa’s net. But the north London natives could not punish the Old Gold further with their spells of dominance. Eddie Nketiah went closest for a third goal but he struck the post.
So, after seeing Cunha get Wolves back into the fixture from Zinchenko’s mistake, Odegaard was fearful of Arsenal conceding again. Yet Mikel Arteta’s team dug in and ground out a win to move four points clear atop the Premier League table. It was their 14th game of the term.
“To be honest, in the end when they scored the first one, it’s always a bit – what can I say – you’re always a bit nervous for the second,” Odegaard told Sky Sports News (02/12, 17:19). “But I think we did well after the goal, I think we controlled everything most of the game.
“But, of course, we let them into the game with the goal, so that’s a bit frustrating. But, in the end, it’s a win and a well-deserved one, so we have to take that and move on.”
Arsenal would have kicked themselves had they not won 2-1
Arsenal would have ended their fixture kicking themselves had Zinchenko’s error that led to Cunha’s superb goal costing them the win against Wolves. They enjoyed by far the better of the chances to score this Saturday. But Sa and later Dan Bentley stopped the Gunners firing.
Per WhoScored, Cunha’s shot was also only Wolves’ third and final effort directed on target all game. Arsenal had directed six of their 17 attempts by the 86th minute on target. Wolves had only attempted five shots before scoring with three failing to force Raya to make a save.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
