It all starts again on Saturday for Wolves, who begin at the Emirates, and wolves.co.uk provides a thorough preview ahead of kick-off.
1 | Roll Call
Wolves will begin the new season without the services of right-back Nelson Semedo following his red card at Liverpool on the final day of the last campaign. He’ll miss the opening two Premier League fixtures and the Old Gold’s Carabao Cup tie with Burnley. It means Matt Doherty and Pedro Lima are likely to be fighting it out for the shirt on day one. Matheus Cunha was injured earlier in pre-season but returned to training this week and Gary O’Neil said he’s “raring to go” on Saturday. Elsewhere, Yerson Mosquera has featured heavily during the summer and would make his Premier League debut if selected, three years after his Old Gold bow. Elsewhere, Daniel Podence and Goncalo Guedes will be in the matchday squad, having spent time away on loan last term. Like Lima, Rodrigo Gomes and Jorgen Strand Larsen would be making debuts should they get the nod.
Mikel Arteta has a relatively clean bill of health, with the only question marks surrounding Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu. Timber, who missed the majority of last term, has been struggling with a foot problem, which ruled him out of the final matches of pre-season, but he did return to training this week. Tomiyasu missed the club’s tour of the United States with a knee problem and is a number of weeks away from full fitness. New signing Riccardo Calafiori will be eying a full Arsenal debut, however Oleksandr Zinchenko has had the nod for the majority of the summer so far.
2 | The Stat Pack 2023/24
Goals
- Matheus Cunha | 12
- Bukayo Saka | 16
Assists
- Pedro Neto | 11
- Martin Odegaard | 11
Biggest win
- Brentford 1-4 Wolves | December 2023
- West Ham United 0-6 Arsenal | February 2024
Yellow cards
- Mario Lemina | 11 yellows, 1 red
- Kai Havertz | 11 yellows, 0 reds
Clean sheets
- Jose Sa | 4
- David Raya | 16
3 | Journey to Saturday
O’Neil’s side enjoyed a relatively positive pre-season, out in Marbella and the Miami, as well as back home in Wolverhampton. During the early matches, behind closed doors, the Old Gold beat Como 1907 and Bristol City, before beating West Ham United 3-1 in Jacksonville. Another positive showing followed, despite defeat to Crystal Palace in Annapolis. The third and final stop in the United States saw O’Neil’s side comfortably beat Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in Miami. The final outing of the summer was less enjoyable, as Rayo Vallecano edged things at Molineux, but it gave the head coach food for thought before the big kick off.
Like Wolves, the Gunners spent pre-season in the States and faced three Premier League clubs while there. Their opening two fixtures went to penalties, with them beating AFC Bournemouth after a 1-1 draw and losing a shootout to Manchester United, despite winning 2-1 in 90 minutes. The final stop in the States came in Philadelphia and the Gunners won 2-1. Back on home soil, Arsenal dismantled Bundesliga reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen and the summer concluded with the Emirates Cup. The pre-season Emirates traditional, which is now a stand-alone game, saw Arsenal win 2-0 thanks to goals from central defensive duo William Saliba and Gabriel.
A new season on the horizon 🐺 pic.twitter.com/rPn4CWu9nd
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 14, 2024
4 | Winning at the Emirates
Wolves’ most recent win at the Emirates Stadium came on the evening of Raul Jimenez’s sickening head injury. Despite his withdrawal after 15 minutes, the Old Gold rallied to win for the Mexican. Pedro Neto fired home the opening goal after Leander Dendoncker had hit the woodwork from close range. Daniel Podence, now back in the fore at Molineux, scored a brilliant second after clipping himself into a shooting position. Gabriel had momentarily drawn the home side level in the behind-closed-doors game, but Wolves regained the lead before the interval. After the break Wolves held on fairly comfortably during a campaign which they complete the double over the Gunners.
Arsenal | Leno, Bellerin, Tierney, Gabriel, Luiz, Ceballos, Willock, Xhaka, Saka, Willian, Aubameyang.
Wolves | Patricio, Semedo, Boly, Coady, Marcal, Moutinho, Dendoncker, Adama, Podence, Neto, Jimenez.
