Wolves 0-1 Arsenal (Gabriel Magalhaes, 25′)
One nil to the Arsenal. A grand old institution might just be re-asserting itself at the expense of another.
This was just the kind of performance Mikel Arteta had in mind when he sacrificed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; committed, determined and organised. They were hanging on a little at the end courtesy of Gabriel Martinelli’s hot flush with 20 minutes remaining. Before that Arsenal were the impressively smooth ensemble that ran up four straight wins at the end of last year.
There is a unity about this group that the player rehomed in Barcelona threatened. It is not just work rate but confidence. Forget the headline numbers of players flooding out in the transfer window and none coming the other way. The cull of fringe players and a diva looked good business at Molineux, where the win took Arsenal to fifth with games in hand.
Wolves, for all their progress, lack depth and penetration. The score did not reflect the ease with which Arsenal passed the test. When Wolves pressed the turbo in the second half the increase in energy did not change the broad thrust of output. The change of pace was applied to the same ideas. Arsenal just ran a bit quicker to counter the surge.
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Seven minutes of gentle probing from Arsenal gave way to a rare cut-through moment for Wolves, Daniel Podence pulling the strings in the middle before the ball worked its way to Ruben Neves. The teasing ball seeking out Raul Jimenez had Thomas Partey in a lather before Aaron Ramsdale smothered the danger.
Emile Smith Rowe’s absence from the starting line-up continues to trouble some among the Gunner diaspora. The reasons are two-fold, Martinelli and the aforementioned Odegaard. The former is quicker and arguably more incisive down the left and inside him Odegaard has the hallmarks of a global ten. With Saka on the right Arsenal have the goods to worry any opponent.
Here they were facing a team that won four out of five before the winter break, including a deserved victory at Old Trafford. Only Manchester City have conceded fewer goals. The problem for Wolves is finding the net. Should Bruno Lage happen across the secret, the traditional powers have reason for concern. This was their moment to step forward. A victory against Arsenal with a trip to Spurs to come had the potential to reconstitute the top-four. But instead of spreading their wings they had them clipped.
For once Wolves forgot how to defend, twice failing to clear a corner and thus allowing Gabriel to finish off the head tennis with an easy stab over the line. So the team that had not won in five led the division’s form team, if we ignore Manchester City.
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In response, Wolves demonstrated their problem. Neves found Trincao in acres. “Go on, earn your money” urged one Wolves supporter of the Barcelona loanee. Trincao has all the touches, as he showed in skinning Partey, forcing him to take a yellow for the team, and subsequently Tierney. Yet for all his lightness of touch there is too little of consequence on the end of it.
You can imagine Trincao in a seat next to Gary Neville 15 years hence explaining like so many talented technicians how the intensity of the Premier League took him by surprise. Maybe, as another Wolves devotee complained, you just have to “want it” more.
Wolves (3-4-3)
- Jose Sa – 7
- Max Kilman – 6
- Conor Coady – 7
- Romain Saiss – 6
- Nelson Semedo – 7
- Leander Dendoncker – 5
- Ruben Neves – 7
- Marcal – 5
- Franciso Trincao – 5
- Daniel Podence – 8
- Raul Jimenez – 5
Subs:
- Francisco Oliveira – 5
- Rayan Ait-Nouri – 5
- Fabio Silva – 5
Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
- Aaron Ramsdale – 7
- Cedric Soares – 7
- Ben White – 7
- Gabriel Magalhaes – 8
- Kieran Tierney – 7
- Thomas Partey – 7
- Granit Xhaka – 6
- Bukayo Saka – 6
- Martin Odegaard – 8
- Gabriel Martinelli – 6
- Alexandre Lacazette – 6
Subs:
- Emile Smith Rowe – 5
- Rob Holding – 5
- Eddie Nketiah – 5
Lacazette snapped a sharp shot straight at Sa shortly before the break that might have killed the game had he picked his spot. The chance resulted from another neat exchange between Saka and Odegaard, to whom Wolves had little answer down the right.
The Wolves lament during the half-time pie run bemoaned the lack of cutting edge. The fine work of Neves and Podence ran aground for want of variety in front of them. Trincao was the only real out and Jimenez, still seemingly weighing risk in the wake of a serious head injury, the only target. The Arsenal defence knew what was coming a dealt with it.
The game changed complexion in the 70th minute when Martinelli collected two yellow cards in as many seconds. Indeed the infringements against Podence and Chiquinho came so quickly he could barely compute the necessity to walk.
Arteta brought on Holding for Saka and Smith-Rowe for Odegaard, the former a defensive reflex the latter an outlet on the break. Smith-Rowe did eat time with one enterprising surge but for the most part Arsenal were in Alamo mode.
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