Sokratis Says Arsenal Players Are Angry, 'Not Stupid' After 3-1 Defeat to Wolves

Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos said he and his team-mates bear full responsibility for their 3-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday. 

The Gunners were 3-0 down at half-time at Molineux before Sokratis pulled one back in the 80th minute.

Per Goal's Charles Watts, when asked if the players were angry after the defeat, the centre-back said:

"Of course. The players like to play Champions League, they like to win but it is not easy.

"All the players take responsibility. We are not stupid. We know that we didn't play good. It is not the problem of the coach, the system, it is nothing. It is just us. This was a bad moment for us. 

"It is not time to have excuses. We have to look forward: three games more. We need to win all the games and get nine points and we’ll see if we can be in the top four."

Ruben Neves opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a free-kick. Watts was critical of Arsenal's attempt to defend the set piece:

Matt Doherty doubled the hosts' lead with a 37th-minute header. On the stroke of half-time, Diogo Jota took advantage of some careless passing from Arsenal in their own half before racing past Sokratis and firing beyond Bernd Leno.

Gunners legend Ian Wright summarised the mood at half-time:

Arsenal eventually responded when Sokratis headed home a corner late on, which was the Gunners' first shot on target.

Gunnerblog's James McNicholas and James Benge of Football.London were unimpressed with Arsenal's performance:

Though Wolves have taken 16 points off the Premier League's top six this season and knocked Liverpool and Manchester United in the FA Cup, they were helped by Arsenal's poor away record.

It was Arsenal's seventh away defeat in the Premier League this season, and they've also been held to four draws in their 17 trips on the road.

Despite that, the Gunners are just one point off the top four with three matches remaining. They're also in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League against Valencia, and winning that competition would provide another route to UEFA Champions League qualification.

Given Arsenal are away for two of their last three domestic fixtures—they're at home to Brighton & Hove Albion either side of trips to Leicester City and Burnley—the Europa League could be their best bet.