After blowing a two-goal lead to draw against the Premier League’s bottom club Wolves, there will be no dodging the questions on whether Arsenal are mentally ready to end their 22-year wait to become champions.
For the first time really this season, the title race is not completely in the control of Mikel Arteta and his players.
If Manchester City – five points behind in second place – win all of their remaining 12 games, which includes a home meeting against Arsenal, they will finish first.
The same, though, can be said for the Gunners, who have 11 matches left – and they win the April encounter at Etihad Stadium.
But after dropping four crucial points in successive draws against Brentford and Wolves, they are in danger of being haunted by the ghost of past failures.
Three successive runners-up finishes, two of them to Pep Guardiola’s men, provide a constant reminder.
Former Arsenal forward Alan Smith admitted “that word bottle will be used quite a bit in the next few days”.
The scenario seemed a lot different when Piero Hincapie slotted home his first goal for the club in the 56th minute, adding to Bukayo Saka’s fifth-minute opener.
But the Gunners lacked the control and ruthlessness to finish off a Wolves side that had lost their nine previous meetings and are heading for the Championship.
The hosts showed remarkable spirit to fight back with Hugo Bueno’s 20-yard curler giving them hope. Then, in the fourth minute of added time, 19-year-old Tom Edozie – off the bench for his senior debut – pounced on a mix-up between Arsenal pair David Raya and Gabriel and his shot went in off Riccardo Calafiori for a dramatic, dreamy leveller.
Arsenal next face London derbies with Tottenham and Chelsea and they have worryingly started to wobble at a decisive stage in the season.
