It was supposed to be routine.

A fast start. Early dominance. Three points secured.

Instead, Arsenal walked out of Molineux stunned — and their manager did something no one expected live on Sky Sports.

After watching his side surrender a two-goal lead in a dramatic 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Arteta didn’t just analyze mistakes. He singled out one Wolves player who, in his words, “changed the dynamic of the game” and made it “very difficult” for Arsenal to win.

And the name caught attention.

Arsenal Were Cruising… Until They Weren’t

Inside five minutes, Bukayo Saka had already struck to silence the home crowd. Arsenal looked sharp, confident, in total control. When Piero Hincapié thundered home a second in the 56th minute, it felt done.

Game over.

Title charge intact.

But Wolves refused to fold.

Hugo Bueno curled in a sensational effort just five minutes later to ignite belief inside Molineux. Suddenly, Arsenal looked uneasy. Passes slowed. Duels were lost. Wolves began winning second balls, pressing higher, and breaking forward with purpose.

Then came the late dagger.

Deep into stoppage time, debutant Tom Edozie drilled a low shot that deflected cruelly off Riccardo Calafiori and into the net. 2-2. Chaos. Shock.

Arsenal’s grip on the game had completely evaporated.

The Midfield Battle That Changed Everything

While the headlines will focus on the comeback goals, Arteta’s post-match comments zeroed in on something else — the midfield fight.

He pointed directly at Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.

“He was excellent,” Arteta admitted. “When a player competes the way he did, with that intensity and timing, he makes it very difficult to control the game.”

That wasn’t generic praise.

Bellegarde’s second-half performance tilted the contest. He pressed aggressively, disrupted passing lanes, and repeatedly stopped Arsenal from building through the centre. When Wolves began to grow in confidence, it was because they were winning midfield duels — and Bellegarde was at the heart of it.

Every loose ball? He was there.

Every transition moment? He anticipated it.

Every time Arsenal tried to reset tempo? He snapped into a challenge.

It wasn’t flashy. It was ferocious.

A Subtle Transfer Hint?

Then came the line that raised eyebrows.

“That profile — the energy, the courage to play forward, the ability to press and recover — is very important in modern football.”

That’s not something Arteta says lightly.

Arsenal pride themselves on controlling matches through structured pressing and midfield dominance. Yet for 30 crucial minutes, Wolves flipped the script. Bellegarde didn’t just compete — he imposed himself.

Sky Sports pundits immediately reacted, suggesting the praise sounded more like admiration than frustration.

Could this be early groundwork for future interest?

Stranger things have happened.

A Warning Shot in the Title Race

For Arsenal, the draw feels heavier than just two dropped points. Leading 2-0 against a side fighting near the bottom, they looked comfortable. But football punishes complacency — and Wolves sensed vulnerability.

Bellegarde’s relentless drive injected belief into his teammates. Once the first goal went in, the atmosphere shifted. Arsenal’s composure cracked. Wolves’ aggression grew.

Arteta admitted as much.

“We lost control in moments we cannot afford to lose it. In this league, that costs you.”

The Premier League doesn’t forgive lapses. And on this night, one Wolves midfielder exposed that fine margin between dominance and disaster.

Arsenal may still be chasing silverware. Wolves may still be battling for survival.

But under the lights at Molineux, one thing was clear:

A Wolves midfielder ran the game when it mattered most.

And even the Arsenal boss couldn’t ignore it.