Keown delivers brutal verdict: Arsenal must stop throwing opportunites away or forget title

Arsenal legend Martin Keown has launched a stinging critique of his former club's mental strength after Mikel Arteta's side surrendered a two-goal lead against bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Keown, one of the most decorated defenders in Arsenal's history and a man who knows what championship-winning mentality looks like from the inside, did not soften his words in the aftermath of a result he described as "massively disappointing." 

For the former England international, the issue was not tactical, it was psychological, and it was visible on Wednesday night.

He pointed to a noticeable deterioration in the players' body language as Wolves mounted their comeback, identifying a squad that was "hoping" to win rather than "taking" the win, a distinction, he argued, that separates contenders from champions.

"It is a difficult evening. Massively disappointing," Keown said. "It is one of those where if you are going to be a champion, you have to take it. It seemed like too many players were hoping to get it over the line but not enough conviction in the final third. A massive point for Wolves."

The fixture that sharpens the pain

What amplified Keown's frustration was the identity of the opposition. Wolves entered the fixture as the Premier League's bottom side, making the dropped points not merely disappointing but, in the former defender's framing, inexcusable for a team with genuine title ambitions.

With a trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City still to come, Keown was unambiguous about what these fixtures represent in the architecture of a title-winning campaign.

"Arsenal still need to go away to Man City. It is wide open," he said. "You are playing the bottom team in the Premier League, you have to win this game and Arsenal have let it slip through their fingers."

The logic is unforgiving but hard to argue with. If Arsenal cannot convert a two-goal lead against the division's weakest side at home, the prospect of taking points from the champions at their own ground becomes a significantly heavier ask.

'Hurt as Oxygen' - The challenge Keown has set

Keown stopped short of writing off Arsenal's title prospects. Five points clear at the summit, with games remaining, the race is far from over. But the former defender issued a direct challenge to Arteta and his players, urging them to convert the pain of Molineux into competitive fuel rather than allow it to escalate into a confidence crisis.

"Look, Arsenal are five points clear at the top of the table, it's still wide open. There's still a chance to win it, it's how you recover now," Keown said. "The team had a massive opportunity tonight to stretch their lead. This hurt is going to have to be used as oxygen going forward. You can't keep giving away opportunities in winning positions; it's happening to Arsenal a lot this year."

That final clause carries the sharpest edge. This was not presented as an isolated lapse or an unlucky evening. Keown explicitly framed it as a recurring pattern, one that, if left unaddressed by Arteta's coaching staff, threatens to become Arsenal's defining vulnerability in the run-in.