Arsenal Face Wolverhampton Wanderers in Crucial English Top Division Encounter

Focus shifts for a fascinating top-flight contest as table-toppers Arsenal welcome struggling Wolves to the Emirates Stadium.

Team News

Arsenal have made a trio of alterations from the side that endured a narrow loss at Villa Park last weekend. William Saliba, the Swedish striker and the Brazilian winger all come into the lineup. Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino drop to the substitutes' bench, while the Italian defender is not involved. Saliba is back after sitting out five matches through injury.

The visitors also make three changes to their starting XI following being skelped 4-1 at Molineux by Manchester United on Monday evening. The experienced full-back, the Brazilian midfielder and Hwang Hee-chan are recalled. Hoever and Jhon Arias drop to the substitutes, while Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde misses out 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.
Substitutes: Tchatchoua, Mane, Lopez, Hoever, Chirewa, Arokodare, Arias, Santiago Bueno, Jose Sa.

Match Official: Robert Jones
VAR Official: John Brooks

The Setup

Good evening! Because, look at this …

The standings tells a striking story. Arsenal sit proudly at the pinnacle of the Premier League, while Wolves occupy the bottom of the league.

… however, even though this will be the 42nd time the Premier League leaders have faced the team at the foot of the division – winning 30 victories from 41, with seven draws – who are responsible for two of the four historical shocks? Indeed, Wolves, that’s who! So while Mikel Arteta will undoubtedly be anticipating another three points, the Wolves boss must know that long shots occasionally find the target, and you never know. The start is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. The action is imminent!

^{(The other two bottom-beats-top wins in the Premier League era are Oldham’s 1-0 win over United in March 1993, and Tottenham Hotspur – yeah, a surprising one - beating Liverpool in November 2008.)}