Arsenal Face Wolverhampton Wanderers in Key Top-Flight Clash
All eyes turn for a fascinating top-flight matchup as front-runners the Gunners entertain rock-bottom Wolves to the Emirates Stadium.
Team News
Arsenal have made three changes following the side that endured a narrow defeat at Villa Park last weekend. The French defender, the Swedish striker and the Brazilian winger are all included in the starting eleven. Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino are named on the bench, while the Italian defender is absent. Saliba is back after missing five matches through injury.
The visitors also make three changes to their starting XI following being skelped 4-1 at home by United on Monday evening. The experienced full-back, João Gomes and the South Korean forward come in. Hoever and Arias are on the substitutes, while Bellegarde is not in the squad altogether.
The Teams in Full
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Hincapie, Timber, Eze, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Subs: 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.
Referee: Robert Jones
VAR Official: John Brooks
The Setup
Good evening! And I mean, c’mon …
The standings tells a stark picture. The hosts sit comfortably at the top of the table, while Wolves prop up the league.
… yet while this will be the 42nd time the top side have faced the side propping up the entire table – winning 30 out of 41, with seven tied games – who are responsible for two of the four historical shocks? Why, Wolves, that’s who! Therefore, although the Arsenal manager will surely be expecting another victory, the Wolves boss must know that long shots sometimes succeed, and you never know. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. Let's go!
(The remaining 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.)
