Fabregas urges caution with goal-greedy Gunners

MICK MCCARTHY’S sour wit suggested Arsenal would be quaking in their boots at the prospect of having to face Wolves when he prefaced this encounter.

He was joking in his own dour way, of course, and his latent concern came to pass. The idea that Arsene Wenger’s rampant side should be fearful of anything right now is frankly laughable: goals continue to spew from all areas as quickly as they find passing angles undreamt of by those less gifted.

The blinding statistic of scoring 55 times before the Halloween costumes have barely been packed away indicates that if anyone should be concerned it should be Carlo Ancelotti and Alex Ferguson.

Nobody was arguing when Wenger suggested, with a glint in his eye, that his side are on the verge of “something special.”

Yet, remarkably there is a niggling worry within the walls of the Emirates. Hard to believe when you are averaging three goals per game and on course to smash the Premier League’s goalscoring record before February, but it is true.

Fortunately for Wenger it has nothing to do with doubts over whether they can sustain what they have started. It is a healthy concern about a famine after such a goal feast so far and one that Cesc Fabregas feels will be the driving force behind a genuine title challenge to Chelsea and Manchester United this season.

It seems ridiculous, but the Spaniard and his teammates are fretting over what happens if the goals dry up and drought should strike. Dwelling on the loss of such potency is a mental exercise that they hope will ensure that the powers do not wane at any point over the remainder of the season.

“We do worry about the goals coming to an end. We talk about what will happen if they stop,” said Fabregas.

“It is great when we are scoring so many goals and we have a threat all over the team, but we know that we have to keep that right the way through.

“There is no point scoring goals like we are until December and then it ends. That will not win the title. So the fear that the run will come to an end is keeping us focused because we want to win the title and we know we have to carry on.”

Fabregas is doing more than most to ensure it does as the club’s leading scorer with nine goals. Arsenal will acknowledge they were far from their very best here, but there were flashes of brilliance.

His latest contribution came when he started and finished another angular invasion with typical composure for Arsenal’s third goal. It was the kind of flourish for which Wenger’s team are regarded and which prompted McCarthy to award them the title of the best footballing side in the Premier League.

They did not have to be “Arsenalesque”, as McCarthy put it, to claim the first two goals that dented Wolves’ impudence. Arsenal are hardly the kind of team that requires any assistance, but it is hard to argue with McCarthy when he claims Wolves were the “architects of our own downfall.”

One own goal from Ronald Zubar was downright careless. The second, eight minutes later, via the fringe of Jody Craddock, when Eduardo’s attempted chip was veering wide, was unfortunate.

Arsenal may have surrendered a two-goal lead to West Ham, but there was no way they were going to repeat that mistake.

Andrey Arshavin completed the chastening experience, punishing a weak punch from Wayne Hennessey, and one suspects there could have been more goals if Arsenal had needed them. Content to maintain their batting average they reserved energy levels in a month that Wenger claims to hate most in football.

According to the Frenchman, November is when he first spots signs of fatigue in his players, because of international commitments and it is also a bad time for injuries and he collected another here with a calf problem for Vassiriki Diaby. It was a small price to pay, especially with the international break.

As for McCarthy, there is little respite. He and his players have to dust themselves off but rehabilitation is unlikely to be found at Stamford Bridge, their next port of call.

McCarthy hates losing, but he will not lose too much sleep over this or the fact Ancelotti’s side are next on the horizon. At least his side showed enough spirit to conjure a late goal from Craddock.

“No one enjoys having their backsides slapped like that and people will be saying Wolves are in trouble and they have Chelsea next. We will go to Chelsea and enjoy it.

“That is what we worked so hard for last season. Games against Arsenal and Chelsea won’t decide our fate this season. It’s the ones against Hull, Portsmouth, West Ham and people around us that will be key.”

Whether Wolves are good enough to win those types of encounter is another matter.

REFEREE: Steve Bennett (Kent) 6: After his shocker at West Ham, this was more like it. No glaring errors and no controversy.

MATCH RATING: *** Wolves paid for their early impudence, while Arsenal were nowhere near their best. They were still far too good for McCarthy’s men, who look set for a long, hard winter.