The Gunners Face Wolves in Crucial Premier League Fixture
All eyes turn for a compelling top-flight matchup as front-runners the Gunners entertain rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers to the their home ground.
Confirmed Sides
Mikel Arteta's side have opted for a trio of alterations from the team that endured a narrow loss at Villa Park in their previous outing. The French defender, the Swedish striker and the Brazilian winger all come into the lineup. Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino drop to the substitutes' bench, while the Italian defender is absent. The centre-back is back after missing five matches through injury.
Wolves also make three changes to their lineup following being heavily defeated 4-1 at Molineux by United on Monday evening. The experienced full-back, João Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan come in. Hoever and Jhon Arias drop to the bench, while Bellegarde is omitted 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.
Referee: Robert Jones
VAR Official: John Brooks
The Setup
Good evening! Because, look at this …
The standings reveals a clear picture. The hosts sit comfortably at the summit of the table, while their opponents occupy the bottom of the division.
… yet while this will be the 42nd occasion the top side have faced the team propping up the division – with 30 victories from 41, with seven tied games – who are responsible for two of the four historical shocks? Why, Wolves, of course! Therefore, although the Arsenal manager will surely be anticipating another victory, Rob Edwards must know that long shots occasionally succeed, and you never know. Kick-off is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. It’s on!
(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 Tottenham Hotspur – admittedly, this one sounds a bit weird - beating Liverpool in November 2008.)