Arsenal Face Wolverhampton Wanderers in Pivotal Top-Flight Clash
All eyes turn for a compelling top-flight matchup as front-runners the Gunners host struggling 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, the Swedish striker and the Brazilian winger are all included in the starting eleven. The captain and the Spanish midfielder are named on the substitutes' bench, while the Italian defender is absent. Saliba is back after sitting out five matches through injury.
Wolves also make three changes to their starting XI following being heavily defeated 4-1 at home by Manchester United last time out. The experienced full-back, João Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan are recalled. Hoever and Arias drop to the substitutes, while Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde is omitted altogether.
The Teams in Full
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
Match Context
Good evening! Because, let's be honest …
The standings paints a clear picture. Arsenal sit comfortably at the summit of the table, while Wolves anchor the league.
… however, even though this will be the 42nd occasion the top side have played the team at the foot of the entire table – winning 30 victories from 41, with seven tied games – which team is behind two of the four all-time upsets? Indeed, Wolverhampton Wanderers, that’s who! So while the Arsenal manager will undoubtedly be anticipating another three points, Rob Edwards must know that long shots occasionally find the target, and anything is possible. Kick-off is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. The action is imminent!
(The remaining bottom-beats-top wins in the modern top-flight era are Oldham Athletic's 1-0 win over Manchester United in March 1993, and Tottenham Hotspur – yeah, this one sounds a bit weird - beating Liverpool in November 2008.)
