'We deserve it!' - Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal 'paid the price' for sloppiness in stunning collapse to Wolves

Bukayo Saka ended a run of 15 games without a goal to score early on at Molineux, heading home from a Declan Rice cross after being drafted into the No.10 position. Piero Hincapie then grabbed his first goal for the club since his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen at the start of the second half as Arsenal appeared to be cruising to all three points, but Wolves had other ideas.

Hugo Bueno's belter pulled one back for the hosts on the hour mark, and the Gunners were punished for a tepid second-half performance when an own goal from Riccardo Calafiori in the fourth minute of added time saw Wolves pull level.

Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Arteta said: "Very tough to accept it. In the second half we did not perform in the way we should and the way we require to win a Premier League match. It is better not to judge it, we are all too emotional about it. You have to take the hit because we deserve it.

"It is very easy with emotion to say things that can damage the team. Everyone wants to do their best. You have to go through tough periods. Today at the last minute, we paid the price. We have to do basic things much better than we have done.

"Today we need to accept it. We need to be critical of ourselves because it was not good enough. In the league, it is the reality that we have not been consistent over the last few months. You have to stand up. When you have a moment of difficulty, we have to show how much we want it and how good we are. We have to stand up."

Saka also fronted up for the Sky Sports cameras and was asked what the mood was like in the Arsenal camp after their late capitulation. He replied: "Yeah, it's very flat. Very disappointed with the result and especially with the way we played in the second half. Far from the standards we've set this season.

"It's time for us to reflect on the last few performances and fix the issues immediately, so we can get back to winning games, go on a run and build momentum because we've lost that a bit right now.

"I just think we have to get back to our level. Do the basics right and we've got more than enough quality in this team to win games, especially in the games where we've been dropping points in recently. We need to fix that and that's all our focus is right now."

Next up for Arsenal is a trip to rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby on Sunday. Spurs are under new management having sacked Thomas Frank and replaced him with Igor Tudor on a deal until the end of the season.