The Gunners Face Wolverhampton Wanderers in Key Top-Flight Clash
Focus shifts for a fascinating top-flight matchup as front-runners Arsenal welcome rock-bottom Wolves to the their home ground.
Team News
Mikel Arteta's side have made three changes following the side that suffered a narrow defeat at Villa Park in their previous outing. The French defender, Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Martinelli all come into the starting eleven. The captain and Mikel Merino are named on the substitutes' bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is absent. The centre-back is back after sitting out five matches due to injury.
Wolves also have made three adjustments to their starting XI following being heavily defeated 4-1 at home by United on Monday evening. The experienced full-back, the Brazilian midfielder and Hwang Hee-chan start. Ki-Jana Hoever and Arias drop to the substitutes, while Bellegarde misses out 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.
Bench: Tchatchoua, Mane, Lopez, Hoever, Chirewa, Arokodare, Arias, Santiago Bueno, Jose Sa.
Match Official: Robert Jones
Video Assistant Referee: John Brooks
Match Context
Welcome! Because, c’mon …
The table paints a stark story. The hosts sit proudly at the top of the Premier League, while their opponents prop up the division.
… however, even though this will be the 42nd occasion the Premier League leaders have played the side at the foot of the division – with 30 out of 41, with seven tied games – who are responsible for two of the four historical shocks? Why, Wolves, of course! Therefore, although Mikel Arteta will surely be anticipating another three points, Rob Edwards must know that underdogs occasionally find the target, and you never know. The start is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. The action is imminent!
(The other two last-over-first wins in the modern top-flight era are Oldham’s 1-0 win over Manchester United in March 1993, and Spurs – admittedly, a surprising one - beating Liverpool in November 2008.)
