The Gunners Host Wolverhampton Wanderers in Crucial English Top Division Fixture
Focus shifts for a fascinating top-flight matchup as league leaders Arsenal entertain bottom-placed Wolves to the Emirates Stadium.
Starting Lineups
Arsenal have opted for a trio of alterations from the side that suffered a narrow defeat at Villa Park last weekend. The French defender, the Swedish striker and Gabriel Martinelli all come into the starting eleven. Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino drop to the bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is not involved. The centre-back is back after missing five matches through injury.
The visitors also make three changes to their starting XI after being heavily defeated 4-1 at home by United last time out. The experienced full-back, the Brazilian midfielder and Hwang Hee-chan come in. Hoever and Arias are on the substitutes, while Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde is not in the squad altogether.
The Teams in Full
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Hincapie, Timber, Eze, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Bench: Arrizabalaga, Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Norgaard, Trossard, Madueke, Nwaneri, Merino, Lewis-Skelly.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Johnstone, Mosquera, Agbadou, Toti Gomes, Doherty, Joao Gomes, Andre Trindade, Krejci, Wolfe, Larsen, Hwang.
Bench: Tchatchoua, Mane, Lopez, Hoever, Chirewa, Arokodare, Arias, Santiago Bueno, Jose Sa.
Match Official: Robert Jones
Video Assistant Referee: John Brooks
Preamble
Good evening! And I mean, c’mon …
The standings reveals a striking contrast. The hosts sit proudly at the pinnacle of the Premier League, while Wolves anchor the league.
… yet while this will be the 42nd time the Premier League leaders have taken on the team at the foot of the division – with 30 victories from 41, with seven tied games – which team is behind two of the four historical shocks? Why, Wolves, that’s who! So while Mikel Arteta will undoubtedly be expecting another three points, Rob Edwards must know that underdogs sometimes come off, and you never know. Kick-off is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. It’s on!
(The other two last-over-first victories in the Premier League era are Oldham’s 1-0 win over Manchester United in March 1993, and Spurs – yeah, a surprising one - defeating Liverpool in November 2008.)
