The Gunners Take On Wolves in Key Top-Flight Encounter
Focus shifts for a fascinating top-flight matchup as league leaders the Gunners welcome rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers to the their home ground.
Confirmed Sides
Mikel Arteta's side have made three changes from the team that endured a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa last weekend. The French defender, Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Martinelli all start in the lineup. The captain and Mikel Merino drop to the substitutes' bench, while the Italian defender is not involved. Saliba is back after sitting out a run of games through injury.
The visitors also make three changes to their starting XI following being skelped 4-1 at Molineux by United last time out. Matt Doherty, João Gomes and the South Korean forward start. Ki-Jana Hoever and Jhon Arias drop to the bench, while Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde is omitted altogether.
Confirmed Lineups
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Hincapie, Timber, Eze, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Substitutes: 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.
Substitutes: Tchatchoua, Mane, Lopez, Hoever, Chirewa, Arokodare, Arias, Santiago Bueno, Jose Sa.
Match Official: Robert Jones
VAR Official: John Brooks
Preamble
Good evening! And I mean, c’mon …
The table tells a stark picture. The hosts sit comfortably at the pinnacle of the table, while their opponents anchor the league.
… yet while this will be the 42nd time the Premier League leaders have faced the side at the foot of the entire table – winning 30 out of 41, with seven tied games – which team is behind two of the four all-time upsets? Why, Wolves, that’s who! So while the Arsenal manager will surely be expecting another victory, the Wolves boss must know that underdogs occasionally succeed, and you never know. Kick-off is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. The action is imminent!
(The other two bottom-beats-top victories in the Premier League era are Oldham’s 1-0 win over United in March 1993, and Spurs – yeah, this one sounds a bit weird - defeating Liverpool in November 2008.)