It follows Arsenal everywhere these days. Mocking, barbed, intended to get under their skin. “Second again, ole, ole” — a chant, an insult and a cruel prediction, all wrapped into one.
Wolves fans started singing it after eight minutes of the 2-2 draw on Wednesday that, for Arsenal, could end up being a grievous setback. Another chorus began shortly after the half-hour mark. And then a longer version, louder than all the others, in those wild moments after a 94th-minute goal, scored by a 19-year-old kid who doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page, had blown the title race wide open.
Oh, Arsenal. The reaction at the final whistle told its own story and, heading away from a raucous night at Molineux, the same questions kept coming back: is it happening again? Is this deja vu for the club that has finished runners-up three years in a row?
The lesson of history, after all, is not wholly supportive of the idea that Mikel Arteta’s team have the strength of personality to go from nearly men to Premier League champions. In 2022-23, for example, when Arsenal blew an eight-point lead at the 29-game mark. In two of those three near-misses, they have allowed Manchester City to overhaul them.
This season, Arsenal have been top of the table since September 14. Yet the team that usually finishes as champions wouldn’t ordinarily be expected to surrender a two-goal lead against a bottom-of-the-league side that had previously managed nine points all season. Arsenal’s five-point lead at the summit looks fragile, to say the least, when you consider that City have a game in hand and the two teams meet at the Etihad stadium in April.
Arteta had to choose his words carefully. “It’s very easy when you’re emotional to say things that can damage the team,” he explained. “And that’s the worst mistake you can make.”
Mikel Arteta cuts a frustrated figure at Molineux (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Even so, it was difficult to think of any other time this season when Arsenal’s manager has been more critical of his players. “I’m extremely disappointed,” he said. “But we have to blame ourselves. In the second half, we didn’t show anything close to the standards that are required in this league to win.
“It’s a moment of disappointment. And right now, I think we have to swallow that frustration. When you are at this level and at the top, you need to take the hits, because today we deserved them, and move on as quickly as possible. Because on Sunday we have a big game.”
That game is against Tottenham Hotspur and, again, Arsenal’s supporters should expect to hear more “oles” at their expense. The same song, tapping into their insecurities. It is threatening to become the soundtrack to their season. If they are not careful, it could be that way for even longer.
Since the turn of the year, it has already been used against them, on repeat, in their fixtures at Brentford, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest. It was even sung when Wigan Athletic visited the Emirates stadium in the FA Cup last weekend. Yes, Wigan – 22nd in League One, fighting relegation to the fourth tier of English football.
Last season, it started with West Ham’s fans. Then the supporters of Leicester City, Crystal Palace, and Southampton picked it up. Various others, too – all taking a malicious sense of pleasure from Arsenal’s habit of finishing second.
If Arteta was clever, he would try to use it as extra motivation. Will he challenge his players to make sure they never have to hear this song in future seasons? You would expect so, even though they cannot be short of motivation already. It is still possible they can adapt the lyrics to “champions again” come the end of the season.
Arsenal’s late slip against Wolves could prove costly (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
The bigger problem for Arsenal appears to be one of title-winning know-how and, specifically, that they don’t have it. Arteta was asked about the team’s mentality. Were they struggling to handle the pressure? Could they not deal with the expectation? “I think any question, any criticism, any opinion, we have to take it on the chin today,” he said. “Any bullet, take it.”
Arteta could be seen during parts of the second half imploring his players to take better care of the ball. He wanted them to play with poise and presence. Instead, they were rushed and careless, especially after Hugo Bueno’s beautifully taken goal for Wolves just after the hour. “It was one after the other, to be fair,” said Arteta. “It was one moment after another moment after another moment. So, even though we scored the second goal, we never got a grip and dominance of the game.
“That’s the reality. That’s credit to Wolves – we never want to underestimate that – but I think we played a big part in that. And that’s a very basic thing, a very simple thing that we did really wrong.”
Perhaps the most startling part, from an Arsenal perspective, is that for much of this season, the only aim for Wolves has been to get past the 11-point mark that marked Derby County’s 2007-08 side as the worst team in the Premier League era. Here, though, the Wolves manager, Rob Edwards, talked about being the better side in the second half.
Was there a bit of complacency from Arsenal, too? At 2-0, they seemed to be coasting. If anything, it would have come as a surprise if they hadn’t added to the goals from Bukayo Sako and Piero Hincapie that had put them on course, seemingly, for a freewheeling win.
Yet there were other images that will also linger in the memory if this result has lasting ramifications for Arsenal, trying to avoid their tenth second-placed finish of the Premier League era.
In the away end, one Arsenal fan stood out amid the gloom because of the white coat he was wearing. He had his hands behind his head for several minutes, just stood there, barely able to believe what he was watching.
At the final whistle, Gabriel Jesus could be seen trying to pick a fight with his opponents, shoving Cristhian Mosquera to the ground, and eventually having to be led away. All Jesus did in those moments was confirm that Arsenal were not playing with clear heads.
Gabriel Jesus loses his cool after the final whistle (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
There was the sight of Gabriel arguing with the goalkeeper, David Raya, who was to blame for the second goal. A routine cross had ended with them getting in each other’s way. Step forward Tom Edozie, the wearer of the No 74 shirt for Wolves (yet not among the names printed on the back of the programme) for a dramatic, dreamy equaliser.
It was a wonderful story for Edozie, an 84th-minute substitute making his debut. His goal will be remembered for a long time by the supporters of both clubs.
For Arsenal, however, it was a calamity. They have won only two of their last seven league games and, amid the sleet and swirling winds of Wolverhampton, it was tempting to remember something that Rodri, the City midfielder, had said after Pep Guardiola’s team had edged out Arsenal in 2024.
Second again? “It’s the mentality,” said Rodri, holding on to the championship trophy. “Arsenal … they did an unbelievable season, but I think the difference was in here.”
And these were the moments when he was pointing to his head.