Key events
Mikel Arteta, with the laid-back vibe of a man atop both Premier League and Champions League tables, speaks to TNT Sports. “We have some players back which is great news … all of them bring different qualities … different connections … they have been doing well … we are still missing some very important players … but to have options … manage the load … we all know the importance of each other … it is genuine … it is not easy to do it … it is harder to maintain it … when you lose one game in 19, it can happen … the immediate reaction shows they cared … if I had seen something different, I would have been worried … we have to put in performance after performance.”
Arsenal make three changes to the team that lost 2-1 at Aston Villa last weekend. William Saliba, Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Martinelli are in. Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino drop to the bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is suspended. Saliba is back after missing five matches through injury.
Wolves make three changes to their starting XI after being skelped 4-1 at home by Manchester United on Monday evening. Matt Doherty, João Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan come in for Ki-Jana Hoever and Jhon Arias, who drop to the bench, and Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde, who misses out altogether with a hamstring injury.
The teams
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: John Brooks
Preamble
Good evening! And I mean, c’mon …
… yet while this will be the 42nd time the Premier League leaders have played the side propping up the entire table – winning 30 out of 41, with seven draws – who are responsible for two of the four historical shocks? Why, Wolverhampton Wanderers, that’s who! Click below to reminisce, my old MBM pals. So while Mikel Arteta will surely be anticipating another three points, Rob Edwards must know that long shots sometimes find the target, and you never know. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
(The other two bottom-beats-top victories in the Premier League era are Oldham’s 1-0 win over Manchester United in March 1993, and Tottenham Hotspur – yeah, this one sounds a bit weird – defeating Liverpool in November 2008. We don’t have a link to the former pre-internet match, but here’s one to the latter, which features an in-no-way-doctored photo of Harry Redknapp flooring it in a Ford Cortina.)
