By Nick Callow

Unai Emery praised his Arsenal players despite suffering a huge dip in performance in a fortunate draw against newly-promoted Wolves. The Gunners extended their unbeaten run to 16 games by the skin of what passes for leather in their fancy multi-coloured boots, but there was little zip and few chances.

And after a hugely impressive performance a week ago against Liverpool, Arsenal were glad to still be in the game at all after falling behind to a 13th-minute strike from Ivan Cavaleiro.

It was not until a clutch of substitutions, including of errant captain Mesut Ozil, an 86th-minute equaliser from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and two late, late misses by Wolves that Emery and Arsenal could finally bear to look each other in the eye again.

And it was the work-rate and a belligerent refusal to concede defeat that pleased Emery most, for lesser-willed players could have buckled under the pressure and weight of expectation to win.

Not that Wolves looked anything like Premier League newcomers, rather they appeared to be a team here to stay and likely to finish comfortably in the top half of the table as this result goes with draws against the two Manchester clubs as well.

“I am happy,” Emery insisted afterwards. “I am happy because of the attitude of the players and for how hard they worked. We could have lost it at the end, but that is only because we were so determined to go for the win.”

Even missing two great added-time chances and hitting a post did not dampen the enthusiasm of Wolves coach Nuno Espirito Santo, who rightly reflected on the fact his side had often looked the better team and Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno was man of the match.

“How can I be disappointed after a great game like that?” he pondered.

“Yes, we could have won, but that is football so I am fine. To come to such a difficult stadium and to be able to enjoy playing against a team as good as Arsenal makes me very proud of our players and our fans. I want to make more of these moments.”

As well as Arsenal started – and it was largely nice passing and no end product - Wolves were moving the ball around far too easily, for Emery’s liking, and it was through a slick, silky move they took the lead.

The ball was played swiftly forward on the counter-attack and Raul Jimenez supplied the killer low pass into Arsenal’s area for £7m summer signing from Monaco Ivan Cavaleiro to finish off from close range.

To bastardise a well-worn cliché, if Arsenal’s attack is an irresistible force, their defence is, and has been for many seasons, an extremely moveable object. So it proved again. And it was the improving but often error-prone Rob Holding who almost gifted Wolves a second goal when he dived in unnecessarily on Helder Costa, who dribbled in to the Arsenal box only to be denied by a great save from Leno. The German keeper showed his bravery too by diving at the feet of Jimenez on the follow-up.

When he made a third save in quick succession from another Costa effort the mood in the home fans went from defiant optimism to something bordering on panic.

All they had seen to encourage them, in what was a blistering opening half an hour, was an Alex Lacazette shot which had been brilliantly blocked by Conor Coady.

ll that could be heard among Arsenal fans by half-time were murmurs of discontent and resigned groans of realisation that their team is not as good as some of them hope it was.

Statistics can mislead but the fact Arsenal had not recorded a shot on-target, despite 74 per cent possession, in the opening 45 minutes was an accurate reflection of their lack of urgency.

Emery, never slow to admit or spot a mistake, acted quickly and withdrew Alex Iwobi for the start of the second half. Matteo Guendouzi was sent on to bolster midfield.

Arsenal’s frustration was betrayed by captain Mesut Ozil, who was booked for bouncing a ball in annoyance at a decision by the referee, whose main second-half task was to stop Wolves’ high-level time-wasting.

The home side had only themselves, rather Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, to blame for not scoring in the 73rd minute when he shot against a post with the goal at his mercy.

Emery’s last gamble was withdrawing Ozil and sending on Aaron Ramsey and Mkhitaryan for the final 15 minutes. But even the Spanish tactician could not have predicted the nature of his Armenian substitute’s 86th minute equaliser as his hopeful cross evaded teammates and defenders alike to sneak in at the far post.

Danny Welbeck would probably have been on at that stage had he not suffered a broken ankle and Emery revealed the England man had a successful and significant operation the day after.

That Wolves nearly won this match as young substitute Morgan Gibbs-White rattled the Arsenal woodwork with an excellent effort and Leno saved well from fellow replacement Adama Traore would have been a harsh conclusion to come to terms with after they had battled so well to get back on to level terms.

Teams Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Leno 9; Bellerin 6, Holding 5, Mustafi 5, Kolasinac 5 (Ramsey 75, 6); Torreira 7, Xhaka 6; Iwobi 5 (Guendouzi 45, 7), Ozil 5 (Mkhitaryan 75, 7), Aubameyang 5; Lacazette 5. Subs: Cech, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles, Nketiah.

Wolves (3-4-3): Patricio 7; Bennett 6, Coady 7, Boly 7; Doherty 6, Moutinho 6, Neves 6, Jonny 6; Costa 6 (Traore 75, 6), Jimenez 7 (Gibbs-White 86), Cavaleiro 7 (Jota 61, 6).

Subs: Ruddy, Saiss, Vinagre, Dendoncker, Traore.

Ref: Stuart Attwell 5.

Talking Point: Emery’s first crisis?

Unai Emery’s first two Arsenal matches were free hits, coming against Manchester City and Chelsea. That he responded to defeat by masterminding a 15-game unbeaten run indicated he might know what he is doing.

But a failure to win any of the three matches going in to this one against a Wolves side that had lost their previous three made it a must-win fixture for the Spanish coach. Wolves deserved a point, but these are the matches Arsenal need to win to challenge for a top-four spot. They lie fifth with almost a third of the season gone and that is a fair reflection of where the club is.

Perhaps that is beyond the expectations of the realistic majority, but it is not what the club was hoping for when Arsene Wenger was ditched last season.