The Gunners Face Wolverhampton Wanderers in Pivotal Premier League Fixture

Focus shifts for a intriguing top-flight contest as table-toppers the Gunners host rock-bottom Wolves to the their home ground.

Confirmed Sides

Mikel Arteta's side have made a trio of alterations from the side that endured a narrow loss at Villa Park in their previous outing. The French defender, the Swedish striker and Gabriel Martinelli all start in the lineup. The captain and the Spanish midfielder drop to the substitutes' bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is absent. The centre-back is back after sitting out a run of games due to injury.

Wolves also make three changes to their lineup after being soundly beaten 4-1 at Molineux by United last time out. The experienced full-back, João Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan come in. Ki-Jana Hoever and Arias are on the bench, while Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde is not in the squad 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.

Referee: Robert Jones
VAR Official: John Brooks

Preamble

Good evening! Because, look at this …

The standings tells a clear story. Arsenal sit comfortably at the pinnacle of the Premier League, while Wolves occupy the bottom of the division.

… however, even though this will be the 42nd time the Premier League leaders have faced the team at the foot of the division – with 30 out of 41, with seven draws – which team is responsible for two of the four historical shocks? Indeed, Wolverhampton Wanderers, of course! So while Mikel Arteta will surely be anticipating another three points, the Wolves boss must know that underdogs occasionally find the target, and anything is possible. Kick-off is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. Let's go!

(The other two last-over-first victories in the modern top-flight era are Oldham Athletic's 1-0 win over United in March 1993, and Spurs – admittedly, this one sounds a bit weird - beating Liverpool in November 2008.)

Joseph Roberts
Joseph Roberts

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in the online casino industry, specializing in slot machine mechanics and player psychology.