The Gunners Take On Wolverhampton Wanderers in Pivotal Top-Flight Fixture
All eyes turn for a fascinating top-flight contest as front-runners Arsenal welcome rock-bottom Wolves to the Emirates Stadium.
Team News
Arsenal have introduced three changes following the side that suffered a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa last weekend. The French defender, Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Martinelli all start in the starting eleven. Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino drop to the bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is not involved. The centre-back is back after sitting out five matches through injury.
Wolves also have made three adjustments to their lineup after being soundly beaten 4-1 at Molineux by Manchester United on Monday evening. The experienced full-back, João Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan start. Hoever and Arias drop to the bench, while Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde is not in the squad altogether.
Starting Elevens
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.
Substitutes: Tchatchoua, Mane, Lopez, Hoever, Chirewa, Arokodare, Arias, Santiago Bueno, Jose Sa.
Referee: Robert Jones
Video Assistant Referee: John Brooks
The Setup
Welcome! And I mean, c’mon …
The standings tells a clear story. Arsenal sit proudly at the summit of the table, while Wolves anchor the division.
… however, even though this will be the 42nd occasion the Premier League leaders have played the side propping up the division – with 30 out of 41, with seven tied games – which team is responsible for two of the four historical shocks? Indeed, Wolverhampton Wanderers, of course! So while the Arsenal manager will surely be expecting another three points, the Wolves boss must know that underdogs sometimes succeed, and you never know. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. Let's go!
(The remaining bottom-beats-top victories in the Premier League era are Oldham’s 1-0 win over United in March 1993, and Tottenham Hotspur – admittedly, a surprising one - beating Liverpool in November 2008.)
