Arsenal Take On Wolves in Pivotal Top-Flight Fixture

Focus shifts for a intriguing top-flight contest as league leaders the Gunners entertain bottom-placed Wolves to the their home ground.

Team News

Arsenal have opted for a trio of alterations from the side that endured a 2-1 loss at Villa Park last weekend. William Saliba, Viktor Gyökeres and the Brazilian winger are all included in the starting eleven. Martin Ødegaard and the Spanish midfielder are named on the substitutes' bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is not involved. Saliba returns after missing a run of games through injury.

Wolves also have made three adjustments to their starting XI after being skelped 4-1 at Molineux by Manchester United last time out. Matt Doherty, João Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan start. Ki-Jana Hoever and Jhon Arias are on the bench, while Bellegarde is not in the squad altogether.

The Teams in Full

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 standings paints a striking story. Arsenal sit comfortably at the pinnacle of the Premier League, while their opponents occupy the bottom of the division.

… however, even though this will be the 42nd time the top side have taken on the side at the foot of the entire table – with 30 victories from 41, with seven tied games – which team is behind two of the four historical shocks? Indeed, Wolves, of course! So while Mikel Arteta will surely be anticipating another three points, Rob Edwards must know that long shots sometimes succeed, and anything is possible. Kick-off is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. Let's go!

(The other two last-over-first wins in the modern top-flight era are Oldham Athletic's 1-0 win over Manchester United in March 1993, and Tottenham Hotspur – admittedly, this one sounds a bit weird - defeating Liverpool in November 2008.)

Robert Martin
Robert Martin

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online casinos, specializing in strategy guides and industry trends.