Arsenal Face Wolverhampton Wanderers in Crucial Top-Flight Clash
The stage is set for a compelling top-flight contest as league leaders the Gunners welcome bottom-placed Wolves to the their home ground.
Starting Lineups
Arsenal have introduced three changes from the team that suffered a 2-1 loss at Villa Park in their previous outing. The French defender, the Swedish striker and Gabriel Martinelli are all included in the lineup. Martin Ødegaard and the Spanish midfielder drop to the substitutes' bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is not involved. The centre-back returns after sitting out a run of games due to injury.
The visitors also make three changes to their starting XI following being heavily defeated 4-1 at home by United last time out. Matt Doherty, the Brazilian midfielder and Hwang Hee-chan are recalled. Hoever and Arias drop to the bench, while Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde misses out 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.
Subs: Tchatchoua, Mane, Lopez, Hoever, Chirewa, Arokodare, Arias, Santiago Bueno, Jose Sa.
Match Official: Robert Jones
VAR Official: John Brooks
Match Context
Good evening! Because, look at this …
The standings paints a clear picture. The hosts sit comfortably at the top of the Premier League, while their opponents anchor the league.
… yet while this will be the 42nd occasion the Premier League leaders have faced the side at the foot of the entire table – with 30 victories from 41, with seven tied games – which team is responsible for two of the four historical shocks? Why, Wolves, of course! So while Mikel Arteta will surely be anticipating another three points, Rob Edwards must know that underdogs occasionally succeed, and you never know. Kick-off is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. Let's go!
(The other two bottom-beats-top victories in the modern top-flight 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.)