Arsenal remain without Kai Havertz and Max Dowman, further stretching Arteta’s squad during a busy period in the run-up to the New Year. White’s withdrawal against Wolves came shortly after the half-hour mark, ending a run that followed his return from a spell on the bench, where he had been an unused substitute in ten consecutive league matches before starting against Brentford earlier this month. It was a close call against bottom-placed Wolves at the weekend, with the Gunners struggling even before White was withdrawn. It was a performance that drew a hefty amount of criticism from head coach Mikel Arteta.
He said: “Yeah, [winning] is at the end of the day, but we knew it was gonna be a tough match, especially if we didn’t manage to score early in the game. We had a lot of situations in the first half. One massive big chance for Martinelli, two yards out, totally free, and we don’t score. But we struggled once we arrived into those danger zones to pick a red shirt in the box.
“We had many situations, and then we didn’t generate many clear chances. In the second half, we did that a bit better, we scored the goal. But then we had periods of three minutes in deep, so passive, really poor defensive habits. Not acceptable for our level because we haven’t conceded a single shot until that point. The first time they do it, they score a goal. That’s the Premier League.
“We are very much aware of that and have to improve that because at the very end we rely on one individual action, a very chaotic action to score the goal and win the game, and the margin should have been bigger.”
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