Premier League: Wolves are in the Gunners’ Crosshairs

Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

There’s no time for Arsenal to celebrate their emphatic win against Lens as they fortify Emirates Stadium once again to host Wolverhampton for a Premier League clash. At this point in the season, this matchup will be a tale of two sides of the league table, where the Gunners are sitting pretty atop the top flight rankings while Wolves are slowly but surely trying to climb the table one Matchday at a time.

Wolves are coming into this match after a failed attempt to sneak an away win against Fulham at the Craven Cottage, while the Gunners are riding a two-game winning streak after defeating Brentford and Burnley.

Even though Arteta’s club is atop the Premier League, the outcome of their match against Wolves is still pivotal, as Manchester City, Liverpool, and Aston Villa are right within striking distance of claiming the top spot in the table.

Meanwhile, Wolverhampton could and should start to find consistency in their season if they want to move up the Premier League table. They have a reasonable December slate to end the year on a high note, given that Arsenal are the only top-five team in their slate for the last month of the calendar year.

Talking Points

Arsenal’s perfect night at Emirates Stadium

The Gunners have orchestrated one of the most beautiful nights of football, as far as this SBOTOP writer is concerned. Arsenal welcomed Lens to a Champions League bout at the Emirates Stadium, but little did the French club know that they were in for a very long night.

Arteta’s boys were firing off the gates as Kai Havertz opened the historic night with a close-range shot that gave Arsenal the lead just a few minutes after kickoff. It was all the same all throughout the match; it was all Arsenal from the first to the last whistle of the game. Jesus, Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard, and Jorginho all got in the scoring act for Arteta against the helpless Lens.

Blinded by the bright lights of the historic stadium and deafened by the roars of fans in red-striped scarves, the Odegaard-led squad played the whole game with such dominance and grace that even rival fans would be left picking their jaws up from the floor.

The game ended in an unsettling 6-0 clean sheet victory for the home team, once again boasting their dominance in front of their faithful fans. It’s looking like the team’s decision to stick and ride with Arteta at the helm is finally paying off.

“It has to be [one of the best first-half performances he’s seen], when you score five goals in the first half in the Champions League against a really good side, the boys deserve the credit, they were really good.” Arteta exclaimed to TNT Sports.

With this win, Arsenal have secured their ticket to the round of 16 and will continue their stellar season against Europe’s best.

This is a prime example of how teams can translate their prowess across different competitions. Just like how the Sky Blues have been doing it these past seasons, Arsenal are now a dominant club in the most competitive top flight in the world and also a dominant club in the most prestigious tournament in European football.

Wolverhampton left wandering

In a broad sense, after finishing the 2019–20 season as the seventh-best team in the Premier League, Wolves have been in a constant state of mediocrity for the seasons that came after. Today, it’s more of the same for Gary O’Neil and his squad, as they’ve only been able to accumulate 15 points in the first 13 matches of the season.

Adding insult to injury, Wolves haven’t had a convincing stretch so far to redeem their slow start to this season’s campaign. But to their credit, they’re starting to ramp things up by winning two of their four wins in the past five matches, which included a successful defence of their home turf against an injury-riddled Tottenham squad earlier this month.

In their last five outings, the Wanderers were able to score seven of their 15 points this season, and now consistency must be their primary concern moving forward. But starting a consistent and convincing run would be a lofty ask for any club, especially when a team like Arsenal are breathing down their necks.

History

The Gunners have dominated their head-to-head matches against Wolverhampton. In their past 20 matches, Arsenal have won the majority of them (14), while Wolves have only won three.

Emirates Stadium has been an impenetrable fortress against Wolverhampton, as they’ve only managed to get one away win when visiting. So, given their recent forms and their history at Emirates Stadium, Arsenal fans should be expecting pedestrian Premier League 2023 results from this matchup.

History shows that Wolves have never kept a clean sheet in their previous 18 matches against Arsenal in the English top flight. Gary O’Neil and the rest of his team have a tall order for them if they want to end this streak, as Arsenal’s offence is in tremendous form coming into the match.

It’s also wise to note that Arsenal’s defence this season has been the culprit for the least number of goals conceded in the entire Premier League. They have only allowed 10 goals in the first 13 games of the season.

Betting Tip

Coming off a 6-0 demolition job against Lens in the Champions League, the Premier League 2023 betting odds rightfully priced the Gunners as the heavy favourites to come out of this match as the victors at 1.28, while the struggling Wolves are at 9.25 and the draw price is at 4.80.

A 1X2 price of 1.28 may seem like a sure thing, but the return value of the line is pretty low. It does hold some value, but given that Arsenal are in the best form of their season, there are other lines that hold more value than 1.28.

One of said lines is Arsenal’s Asian Handicap of -1.25 at 1.67. To be honest, this line is still a little conservative given the disparity of these teams current forms, but at the price of 1.67, it already holds enough value and excitement for punters to consider.

The Gunners are gunning this season across all competitions, and Wolverhampton’s defence leaves much to be desired. Wolves have already conceded 23 goals in 13 matches in the Premier League, and with Arsenal’s offencive prowess, a handicap of -1.25 doesn’t seem to be a huge hurdle for Mikel Arteta’s boys.

 

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