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A pair of late goals, one from Nicolas Pepe and another coming via a Jose Sa own-goal, earned Arsenal a late comeback win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Thursday night in north London.
Hwang Hee-Chee had Wolves in front after 10 minutes with a tight-angle finish beyond Aaron Ramsdale, leaving the Gunners to chase the game for the next 72 minutes.
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But Pepe would start the hosts’ comeback efforts in the 82nd minute, controlling well to turn and shoot beyond the reach of Sa.
A lengthy stoppage around the 90th minute, amid confusion over a Wolves sub, would see six minutes of stoppage time added. That would prove just enough time for the Gunners to snatch all three points.
In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Alexandre Lacazette shot from a narrow angle, and after a deflection, it found its way into the back of the net to secure Arsenal the unlikeliest of comeback wins.
“I feel really happy, it is amazing to win this kind of game in the last minute,” Lacazette said. “We really wanted this win because we know it is important to be at the top of the table.
“A bit sad [the goal] is not gone down for me, I want to score but most important is to win.”
The result sees Arsenal leapfrog West Ham United in the table, moving up to fifth, while Wolves remain in seventh ahead of Tottenham Hotspur.
If Arsenal do claim fourth place and return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 season, they may well look back on this victory as the pivotal moment.
“We don’t know today how important this will be but we know the importance of winning our matches and certainly at home we know we have to be extremely good,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “In May we want to be fighting for those places.
“The attitude, the spirit, the energy and the quality they put in to win the game was phenomenal.”
The Gunners are next in action on March 6, when they visit Watford in the league, while Wolves return to London on Sunday for a Premier League encounter with West Ham.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.