The Breakdown | Arsenal vs Wolves

#1 In both camps

It’s one in, two out for Wolves on the suspension front. Craig Dawson sat out of the loss at Fulham and now returns, but Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes then picked up their fifth bookings and will now miss out. Should Dawson come straight back in, Santiago Bueno is most likely to sit out, despite impressing on his Premier League debut. Tommy Doyle and Boubacar Traore are the obvious replacements for the suspended Lemina and Gomes, but the likes of Pablo Sarabia and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde could play in central roles. Rayan Ait-Nouri was taken off in the first half at Craven Cottage and will not be fit to face the Gunners, neither will Pedro Neto.

Fabio Vieira sits out through suspension for the Gunners, but is also out injured, having undergone a groin operation. He’s joined by injured trio Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe and Jurrien Timber in the treatment room. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko were taken off at the break on Wednesday, but for tactical reasons, while David Raya is expected to make his Premier League return, having been ineligible against Brentford last weekend.

A lovely bit of play to level things up last night ✨ pic.twitter.com/y9kQf54F8c

— Wolves (@Wolves) November 28, 2023

#2 Coming into it

Wolves head to the Emirates on the back of two narrow defeats on the road, which involved three controversial penalty decisions against them. Gary O’Neil’s side twice came from behind against the Cottagers, but eventually succumbed to defeat in stoppage time. At home Wolves have impressed, going unbeaten in four, and although the performance at Craven Cottage deserved something, it’s back-to-back losses on the road which they’re looking to bounce back from. Attacking duo Matheus Cunha and Hee Chan Hwang netted in West London and will now look to do the same in the north when they take on Arsenal.

Wolves’ last three | L 3-2 Fulham (A) – W 2-1 Tottenham (H) – L 2-1 Sheff United

Arsenal defeated Lens 6-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, stretching their winning run in all competitions to three matches. In the Premier League Kai Havertz came off the bench to earn a late win at Brentford, while before the international break the Gunners saw off Burnley at the Emirates. On home soil this season the Gunners have won five and drawn two, being held by Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham. Only Aston Villa have scored more than their 18 home goals, while their successes have been by a narrower margin on the road.

Arsenal’s last three | W 1-0 Brentford (A) – W 3-1 Burnley (H) – L 1-0 Newcastle (A)

#3 Since last time

Arsenal 5 Wolves 0 | 28^th May 2023

The Gunners ended a successful season, where they ran Manchester City close for the Premier League title, with a big win over Wolves at the Emirates. On the final day of last season, the Gunners put five past Julen Lopetegui’s side without reply. Granit Xhaka scored twice, before Bukayo Saka added a third before the break. Gabriel Jesus made it four, before Jakub Kiwior added a fifth. The win left Arsenal in second and Wolves in 13^th as the season came to a close in North London.

Wolves XI | Sa, Semedo, Collins, Kilman, H Bueno, Nunes, Lemina, Gomes, Adama, Hwang, Jimenez.

That afternoon at the Emirates proved to be the final outing in a Wolves shirt for Nathan Collins, Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez, likewise Ruben Neves who came off the bench. Matheus Nunes started this season at Molineux but has also moved on to pastures new. As for Arsenal, only Xhaka has since departed. The likes of Aaron Ramsdale and Jorginho have found minutes harder to cone by this term.

Arsenal XI | Ramsdale, Partey, White, Gabriel, Kiwior, Jorginho, Xhaka, Odegaard, Saka, Trossard, Jesus.

#4 In the media

Andy Thompson, speaking to Matchday Live Extra, turned his attention to Arsenal, and O’Neil’s decision surrounding suspensions.

Thompson said: “He [Dawson] goes straight back in for me, but unfortunately, we lose the two central midfielders, which is going to be a massive blow, especially against Arsenal down at the Emirates. It’s going to be a tough game, but he has to come back in for me. Not disrespected to him [Santi Bueno] but I think Dawson is the more established player in this side at the moment.

“When someone is suspended, there’s opportunities for someone else. If they’re [Doyle and Traore] going to be playing for this club in the Premier League, they’ve got to come in and do a job. There’s going to be no tougher game than at the Emirates. It’s an opportunity for them to show the manager what they can do, but they’ve got to grasp it with both hands. He’s [Sarabia] got a reputation of being a player. There’s no doubt about it, he’s got ability and he’s a very good player. He deserves an opportunity to play, and he showed what he can do when he played against Tottenham, but he’s got to do it more consistently for him. It’s going to be a battle at the weekend – he is going to suit that? I don’t know.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former striker Chris Sutton was impressed by Arsenal, but knows there’s still a long way to go in their quest for Champions League and Premier League success.

Sutton said: “Mikel Arteta has set very high standards at Arsenal. They are now playing where the stakes are really high because they want to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League, which they did last season, but they fell away. In the Champions League they want to show they can compete and go all the way. How do they go about that? By maintaining that level all the way through which isn’t going to be easy. Teams go through the season naturally with peaks and troughs but if you want to be the very best at the highest level, you have to perform every game. There are stresses and strains with that but Arsenal have coped with that pretty well.

“They have the strongest defence in the Premier League, and it was interesting watching David Raya. He wasn’t playing any risk football from the back. On five or six occasions he clipped long balls down the park. There might be a slight tactical change, a change in mentality, just thinking 'we need to be effective and find a way of winning games'. That’s a great habit to have. Maybe he has learned lessons of this high-risk football which he seemed a stickler for last season, so he is adapting.”