With our nearest rivals all playing on Sunday, we’ll look to extend our lead at the top of the table when Wolves head to Emirates Stadium for a traditional Saturday 3pm kick-off.
Our last-gasp win over Brentford plus the 6-0 thrashing of Lens in midweek means there’s plenty of momentum behind us, while we have won all of our last four meetings with the Molineux side, including a 5-0 triumph when we last locked horns back in May.
However we’ll need to be wary of Gary O’Neil’s new-look side who have already upset a league leader this season, when they beat Manchester City 2-1 in September, and have recorded good results against the likes of Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur already this term.
O’Neil left VAR-y unhappy
Our opponents arrive in north London 12th in the table, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. A host of questionable VAR decisions have blighted their season, with O’Neil claiming bad decisions in matches against Manchester United, Luton Town, Newcastle and Sheffield United have cost his team seven points.
Then on Monday night, Fulham were awarded two controversial VAR-assisted penalties to run out 3-2 victors over the Old Gold, leaving them entrenched in mid-table despite impressing many with their positive football this term.
Wolves have scored in each of their last 12 Premier League games, however have kept just one clean sheet this season so far which came away at Everton - one of two wins on the road with the other coming at O’Neil’s former club Bournemouth.
What the managers say
Arteta: “[Wolves] have a lot of quality. It’s not a coincidence, what they are doing. They perform really well, especially against the top sides. That speaks highly about the quality of the coaching staff.
“What Gary is doing, the way they prepare and control opponents, especially when they play at home. We’re going to have to try to break them down tomorrow.” - read every word from Mikel's pre-match press conference
O'Neil: “I go into games extremely confident, but also realistic in how we need to approach them. We go there with slightly less numbers than we would usually have, but what an incredible opportunity for us to go to a tough place, and I’m really looking forward to taking the lads to a real tough place and see where we can go.
"Arsenal feel they’re in a really good moment, so they’re the ultimate test in the Premier League at the moment, especially going there with a weakened group as we will, and not having the numbers that we have in the other games, It will be a real test for us.”
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme: O’Neil has had a transformational impact on Wolves’ approach, turning them from a defensive outfit into one of the most positive sides in the division. Tactically, he is extremely flexible and has used five different formations since taking over, regularly switching between a three and four-man defence.
Wolves have a balanced style, but creating turnovers they can profit from lies at the core of what they want to do. They are aggressive in the way they close down opponents, and no Premier League side has won more duels or regained possession as often as the Black Country outfit, who love to pack central areas.
From turnovers, Wolves are also excellent at countering with pace. Blessed with quick players out wide and in forward areas, they have had more shots from fast breaks than anybody else in the division. No team have completed more dribbles either, with Matheus Cunha their standout star in this department. The forward is very direct and will confidently run at defenders whenever he is inside the opposition half.
Wolves are scoring far more freely, but on occasion that adventurous nature has seen them give away too many goals at the other end. Leaving themselves a little open at times, only a handful of top-flight clubs have faced more shots on their own goal.
Team news
Fabio Vieira remains suspended following his red card against Burnley last time out at the Emirates, while Thomas Partey and Emile Smith Rowe will continue to miss out, as does long-term injury victim Jurrien Timber.
Wolves’ loss to Fulham on Monday was a costly one as it saw Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina pick up their fifth bookings of the campaign and they’re suspended for the trip to north London, but Craig Dawson is available again after completing his.
Rayan Ait-Nouri is a doubt with an ankle issue also picked up in that game, while Pedro Neto is injured after tearing a hamstring against Newcastle last month.
Facts and stats
We have won our last four Premier League games against Wolves, having won just two of their previous eight.
Wolves have never kept a clean sheet in 18 previous Premier League games against us. In Premier League history, only West Bromwich Albion have faced an opponent more without ever recording a shutout (26, also against us).
We have scored in our last 31 meetings with Wolves in all competitions, since a 1-0 home loss in February 1979. If we score here, it will equal our longest scoring streak against an opponent in our history (current run of 32 against West Brom).
Wolves are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games against teams starting the day above them in the league table (wins against Man City and Tottenham, draws against Aston Villa and Newcastle).
We have lost just one of their last 15 home Premier League games (W11 D3) and are unbeaten in our last eight at the Emirates.
Following Kai Havertz’s winner against Brentford, we have now had 10 goals scored by substitutes in all competitions this season, the joint most of any Premier League side (Brighton also 10).
We have kept the most clean sheets (6) and conceded the fewest goals (10) of any Premier League side this season. Our 10 goals conceded is our fewest 13 games into a season since 2013/14.
We have won our last six games played in December, our longest such run in the month in the Premier League.
Gabriel Jesus has been involved in seven goals in his six Premier League starts against Wolves (6 goals, 1 assist), scoring and assisting in our 5-0 win last season.
Bukayo Saka’s nine goals and assists have been worth nine points to us in the Premier League this season. Only Erling Haaland’s goal involvements have been worth more points (10).
Only Mohamed Salah (11) has scored or assisted a goal in more different Premier League games than Wolves’ Hwang Hee-Chan (9) this season.
Match officials
Peter Bankes makes his first appearance at Emirates Stadium since the controversial 1-1 draw with Brentford last season. We have won four of the seven previous fixtures he has been appointed to, with the last coming in May 2021 when we beat West Brom at home.
He has dished out 39 yellow cards in his seven Premier League games so far this term, including 12 in the Tottenham Hotspur v Sheffield United game, which also saw him brandish his only red card of the campaign so far.
Referee: Peter Bankes
Assistants: Eddie Smart, Nick Greenhalgh
Fourth official: Thomas Bramall
VAR: John Brooks
Assistant VAR: Neil Davies
Recent visits from Wolves
Last season’s equivalent encounter saw us wrap up the season with a 5-0 success, as Granit Xhaka marked his farewell appearance with a brace, while Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Jakub Kiwior also got on the scoresheet during a fine display by Arteta’s men.
The season before saw us claim victory in much more dramatic circumstances. Hwang gave the visitors a 10th-minute lead, but Nicolas Pepe came off the bench to equalise with eight minutes remaining, and in stoppage-time Alexandre Lacazette’s cross-shot went in off Jose Sa to hand us a big three points.
We have lost just one of our last 14 home games against Wolves in all competitions, with that defeat coming in November 2020 when goals from Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence came either side of a Gabriel strike.
Remember some classic encounters against Wolves, including our youngest-ever scorer netting and a last-gasp Nicklas Bendtner winner.
Live coverage
Log onto Arsenal.com and the official app an hour before kick-off for all the best Gooner-related pre-match build-up! Nick Bright and Adrian Clarke will be joined by musicians Kid Kapichi, M Huncho and Danny Brown, as well as supporters from Arsenal Slovenia as they cast their eyes over the encounter with Wolves.
They’ll run the rule over our opponents and try to spot where we can hurt them, while Adrian will also look back at our incredible Champions League success against Lens to see what went right.
Then from 3pm, live commentary comes from Dan Roebuck and Nigel Winterburn, so make sure you tune in to stay in touch with all the action!
You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the game wherever you are in the world.
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